Topological effects on static and dynamic properties in an amorphous nanofiber composed of cyclic polymers

The static and dynamic properties of an amorphous polymer nanofiber are investigated via Monte Carlo simulation. Each nanofiber is composed of rings represented by 50 beads. The results are compared with recent simulation, by a similar method, of a nanofiber composed of linear chains with the same number of beads. The coarse-grained model is one that permits reverse-mapping of the macromolecules to C₁₀₀H₂₀₂ or C₁₀₀H₂₀₀. The radial density profiles can be fitted to a hyperbolic tangent function. The orientation of the chains is similar in the two fibers. The cyclic chains move slower than the linear chains, both on the scale of individual beads and on the scale of entire molecules. Both fibers experience an increase in mobility in the surface region, with this increase being larger in the fibers composed of linear chains.