Conformational dynamics of Rouse chains during creep/recovery processes: a review

The Rouse model is a well-established model for non-entangled polymer chains and also serves as a fundamental model for entangled chains. The dynamic behaviour of this model under strain-controlled conditions has been fully analysed in the literature. However, despite the importance of the Rouse model, no analysis has been made so far of the orientational anisotropy of the Rouse eigenmodes during the stress-controlled, creep and recovery processes. For completeness of the analysis of the model, the Rouse equation of motion is solved to calculate this anisotropy for monodisperse chains and their binary blends during the creep/recovery processes. The calculation is simple and straightforward, but the result is intriguing in the sense that each Rouse eigenmode during these processes has a distribution in the retardation times. This behaviour, reflecting the interplay/correlation among the Rouse eigenmodes of different orders (and for different chains in the blends) under the constant stress condition, is quite different from the behaviour under rate-controlled flow (where each eigenmode exhibits retardation/relaxation associated with a single characteristic time). Furthermore, the calculation indicates that the Rouse chains exhibit affine deformation on sudden imposition/removal of the stress and the magnitude of this deformation is inversely proportional to the number of bond vectors per chain. In relation to these results, a difference between the creep and relaxation properties is also discussed for chains obeying multiple relaxation mechanisms (Rouse and reptation mechanisms). (topical review)