INTRAMOLECULAR SCREENING IN NONDILUTE POLYMER-SOLUTIONS

The Flory-Huggins theory of polymer solutions is modified in a simple way to account for intramolecular contacts. In the concentrated regime under conditions where chain dimensions are close to ideal, this is a ccomplished by using a single parameter describing the fraction of sam e-chain contacts. The resulting equations have the same form as those obtained originally by Koningsveld and Kleintjens and reproduce the co mposition dependence of experimental values of chi extremely well.