STRESS-RELAXATION AND CHEMICAL-KINETICS IN PAIRWISE ASSOCIATING POLYMERS

Within the framework of the tube model, a theoretical study is made of the dynamics of a concentrated system of long flexible macromolecules, each of which has a single functional end group that can associate with another such group to make a dimer. When the dissociation time of the dimer (T//b//r//e//a//k) is very large compared with T//d, the disengagement time of an undimerized chain (or 'monomer'), the zero-shear viscosity of the system approaches eta equals (16q plus 1) eta //0/(2q plus 1), with eta //0 the viscosity of pure monomers and q the equilibrium ratio of dimers to monomers.