Scaling theory of polymer adsorption : proximal exponent

Abstract

We interpret some recent calculations of Eisenriegler, Kremer, and Binder [1], and related multi-critical results of Diehl and Dietrich [2]. They show that the monomer concentration profile Φ(x) for isolated polymer chains in a good solvent and in close proximity to an adsorbing wall exhibits a singular behaviour ; i.e., Φ(x) ∼ (a/x) m, where a is a monomer dimension and m ≅ 1/3. Taking into account the proximal exponent m, we correct earlier scaling results [3, 4] for the interfacial tension of semi-dilute polymer solutions in good solvents. We also find good agreement with a recent result by Ishinabe [5] on the single chain energy