CONTINUUM PERCOLATION OF THE 4-BONDING-SITE ASSOCIATING FLUIDS

Wertheim's integral equation theory for associating fluids is reformul ated for the study of the connectedness properties of associating hard spheres with four bonding sites. The association interaction is descr ibed as a square-well saturable attraction between these sites. The co nnectedness version of the Ornstein-Zernike (OZ) integral equation is supplemented by the PY-like closure relation and solved analytically w ithin an ideal network approximation in which the network is represent ed as resulting from the crossing of ideal polymer chains. The pair co nnectedness functions and the mean cluster size are calculated and dis cussed. The condition for the percolation transition and the analytica l form of the percolation threshold are derived. The connection of the percolation with the gas-liquid phase transition is discussed.