COMPUTER-SIMULATION OF POLYMER NETWORKS - MESOSCOPIC HETEROGENEITY OFTHE STRUCTURE AND TOPOLOGICAL PARAMETERS

Samples of networks of reacting bi- and trifunctional monomers have be en obtained by the dynamic Monte Carlo method for the two dimensional lattice model. Systems with various densities and numbers of chemical junctions have been studied. The steady-state structural factor, the n umber of the degree of conversion, and topological parameters of sampl es appear to depend strongly on the initial (random) spatial configura tion and the size of the Monte Carlo base cell. Deviations of structur al parameters calculated by ensemble and time averaging are statistica lly significant, which makes it possible to classify networks of this type as so-called non-ergodic fortuitous media that exhibit this prope rty for scales of similar to 10(2) nm. Newly developed facilities for topological analysis allow one to observe the kinetics of changes in i ndividual components of the system: trees, circuits, and other more co mplex structures.