Reacting polymers with highly correlated initial conditions

We propose and theoretically study an experiment designed to measure short-time polymer reaction kinetics ill melts or dilute solutions. The photolysis of groups centrally located along chain backbones, one group per chain, creates pairs of spatially highly correlated macroradicals. We calculate time-dependent rate coefficients kappa (t) governing their first-order recombination kinetics, which are novel on account of the far-from-equilibrium initial conditions. In dilute solutions (good solvents) reaction kinetics are intrinsically weak, despite the highly reactive radical groups involved. This leads to a generalised mean-field kinetics in which the rate of radical density decay -n(overdot) similar to S(t), where S(t) similar to t(-(1+g/3)) is the equilibrium return probability for 2 reactive groups, given initial contact. Here g approximate to 0.27 is the correlation hole exponent for self-avoiding chain ends. For times beyond the longest coil relaxation time tau, -n(overdot) similar to S(t) remains true, but center of gravity coil diffusion takes over with rms displacement of reactive groups x(t) similar to t(1/2) and S(t) similar to 1/x(3)(t). At the shortest times (t less than or similar to 10(-6) s), recombination is inhibited due to spin selection rules and we find n(overdot) similar to S(t). In melts, kinetics are intrinsically diffusion-controlled, leading to entirely different rate laws. During the regime limited by spin selection rules, the density of radicals decays linearly, n(0) - n(t) similar to t. At longer times the standard result -n(overdot) similar to dx(3)(t)/dt (for randomly distributed ends) is replaced by n(overdot) - d(2)x(3)(t)/dt(2) for these correlated initial conditions. The long-time behavior, t > tau has the same scaling form in time as for dilute solutions.