Molecular dynamics chain scissions

It can be therefore concluded that the above results of the mechanochemical experiments are directly related to the slowing down of chain mobility upon deterioration of solvent quality. Consequently, these experiments are uniquely useful to study chain dynamics in semiconcentrated polymer solution as a function of the thermodynamic conditions at high shear rates. Hence, these experiments can give information about molecular parameters not being accessible by any other method. For example, one can quote the probability of chain scission along the backbones obtained by the full kinetic analysis of the data (cf. Sect. 3). This distribution of rupture sites is obviously connected with the distribution of strain along the chains, which may be probed by degradation experiments. 

In mechanical degradation, chain scission does not occur from individual attack on a specific atom of the macromolecular chain, but from the application of a critical stress. The extensional viscosities of high-molecular-weight, synthetic polymers have been studied for the past two decades, in attempts to relate the values with drag reduction behavior. To date the dynamic uniaxial extensional viscosities of aqueous carbohydrate solutions have not been reported. 

Ding L, Davidchack R and Pan J. (2011) A molecular dynamics study of Young s modulus change of semi-crystalline polymers during degradation by chain scissions. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 5 224—230. 

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