Single-Chain Slip-Spring Simulation for Entangled Ring/Linear Polymer Blends at Low Ring Fractions

We developed a single-chain slip-spring (SCSS) model applicable to entangled ring/linear polymer blends at low ring volume fractions. The model is based on the following two assumptions: (I) the ring-ring interactions are negligible at low volume fractions of ring polymer, and (II) a threading of a linear polymer into a ring polymer is expressed by a slip-spring as an entanglement between the ring and linear polymers. Our SCSS model reproduced the relative zero-shear viscosity of ring/linear blends reported in the preceding experiments. We also calculated the dynamic structure factor of ring and linear polymers and obtained good correspondence with the neutron spin echo experiments.