ABSTRACT
The mean-squared radius of gyration of a linear chain molecule in the concentrated-solution regime is proportional to the number of mers in the macromolecule. The thermodynamic properties of the solution depend on the interaction between the solvent molecules and the mers. To facilitate the discussion of these interactions, Flory chose to divide the chain molecule into
subunits based on the ratio of the partial volumes of the polymer and the solvent:
x
=
ν
/
ν
. The total volume of the solution composed of
N
molecules of solvent and
N
molecules of polymer is:
. (7.1)
The solution is also characterized by the number of nearest neighbors for each solvent molecule,
z.
