FROM COMB POLYMERS TO POLYSOAPS - A MONTE-CARLO ATTEMPT

The pivot algorithm is used on a cubic lattice to study comb polymers large enough to have side-chains obeying scaling behaviour. The connec tivity of the chain induces the formation of side-chain clusters whose size distribution is investigated as a function of side-chain length n and spacer length m. When an attractive interaction is set between t he side-chains, the comb polymer displays the behaviour of an associat ing polymer below the critical aggregation concentration, as observed experimentally.