Intersegment force

Another contribution to the steric interaction is the intersegment force. The intersegment force is caused by the direct interaction between segments of polymers with each other. This interaction depends strongly on the solvent. Below T the interaction among the monomers is stronger than the interaction of the monomers with the solvent, which results in an attractive... 

In bad solvent, the polymer-coated surfaces attract each other [1386, 1387]. One reason is the absence of steric repulsion. Van der Waals forces can become dominant again and lead to aggregation. Napper [1311] formulated the rule of thumb that the onset of dispersion flocculation coincides with the creation of conditions in the solvent medium. Exceptions to this rule are encountered when either the polymeric stabilizers are very short or the particles become very small. In addition to van der Waals forces, the polymer itself induces attraction. In a bad solvent, the polymer usually has a strong tendency to adsorb to any surface available. For that reason, we do not have to distinguish all possible cases. Attraction between surfaces is due to intersegment forces. The intersegment force is caused by the direct interaction between segments of polymers with each other. Since in a bad solvent the interaction... 

If V(Ri - Rj) is the intersegment potential energy due to excluded volume interactions (and electrostatic interactions if charges are present), the force on the ith segment is... 

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