Giant activity-induced elasticity in entangled polymer solutions

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Davide Breoni - , Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, University of Trento (Author)
  • Christina Kurzthaler - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD), Clusters of Excellence PoL: Physics of Life (Author)
  • Benno Liebchen - , Technische Universität Darmstadt (Author)
  • Hartmut Löwen - , Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (Author)
  • Suvendu Mandal - , Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Technische Universität Darmstadt (Author)

Abstract

One of the key achievements of equilibrium polymer physics is the prediction of scaling laws governing the viscoelastic properties of entangled polymer systems, validated in both natural polymers, such as DNA, and synthetic polymers, including polyethylene, which form materials like plastics. Recently, focus has shifted to active polymers systems composed of motile units driven far from equilibrium, such as California blackworms, self-propelled biopolymers, and soft robotic grippers. Despite their growing importance, we do not yet understand their viscoelastic properties and universal scaling laws. Here, we use Brownian dynamics simulations to investigate the viscoelastic properties of highly-entangled, flexible self-propelled polymers. Our results demonstrate that activity enhances the elasticity by orders of magnitude due to the emergence of grip forces at entanglement points, leading to its scaling with polymer length ∼ L. Furthermore, activity fluidizes the suspension, with the long-time viscosity scaling as ∼ L2, compared to ∼ L3 in passive systems. These insights open new avenues for designing activity-responsive polymeric materials.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number5305
JournalNature communications
Volume16
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 12 Jun 2025
Peer-reviewedYes