Conformational and dynamical properties of ultra-soft colloids in semi-dilute solutions under shear flow

Abstract

We investigate structural and dynamical properties of ultra-soft colloids in dilute and semi-dilute solutions by hybrid mesoscale simulations under linear shear flow. In particular, the influence of functionality on these properties is addressed. Our study combines molecular dynamics simulations for the solute with the multiparticle collision dynamics approach for the coarse-grained solvent. The star polymers exhibit large conformational and orientational changes in shear flow, which we characterize by the radius of gyration tensor and the alignment angle. These quantities show a universal dependence on a concentration- and functionality-dependent Weissenberg number with slight deviations at high shear rates. Moreover, the star polymers display a rotational dynamics with a shear-rate- and concentration-dependent rotation frequency. We attribute the concentration dependence to the screening of hydrodynamic interactions in semi-dilute star-polymer solutions.