ABSTRACT
The mechanical property of polymer material is determined by both the elasticity of single polymer chain and the aggregates of polymer chains. The elasticity of single polymer chain is related to the change of conformation as well as deformation at an external force. Understanding the elastic behavior of individual polymer chains will deepen our understanding of the relationship between primary chemical composition and the ¡nal macroscopic properties of polymer materials. Single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) has been used widely in exploring the intra-and intermolecular interactions at the level of single molecules, therefore providing a lot of information about the nanomechanics of single polymer chains which is not available by conventional methods. In this section, we will focus on three basic problems on elastic behavior of synthetic single polymer chain studied by SMFS: How the primary chemical composition, the small-molecule binding, and the solvent quality in±uence the elastic behavior of a single polymer chain.
