Polymers solvation collapse transition

One of the most important phenomena in the polymer solvation is the change in the overall size of the polymer chain upon solvation. In fact at equilibrium the average size of isolated polymer molecules in solution is a function of solvent quality and varies from expanded conformations in good solvents to random walk conformations in poor solvents. This is referred to as collapse transition and was first predicted by Stockmayer [82] more than 45 years ago. The phenomenon was observed by Nishio et al. [83] and Swislow et al. [84] more than 25 years ago and is still a subject of much experimental, computational, and theoretical research today. So far many investigators have tried to study the chain size with solvation using a variety of methods. 

Auroy, P., Auvray, L. Collapse-stretching transition for polymer brushes—preferential solvation. Macromolecules 25, 4134-4141 (1992). doi 10.1021/ma00042a014... 

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