Mean-square radius of gyration of polymer chains

The calculations of the mean-square radius of gyration for more than thirty seas of polymer chains are reviewed on the basis of a unified approach. A general expression of the mean-square radius of gyration was developed for polymer chains with side groups and/or heteroatoms. It consists of two parts. The first part is the mean-square radius of gyration of a model chain, in which every side group, R, was considered to be located in the centroid of the substituent flanking the related skeletal atom, and the second one is the total contribution of the square radius of gyration of every substituent around its centroid. Numerical calculations showed that the logarithmic relationship between the mean-square radius of gyration and the degree of polymerization becomes linear when x is greater than 100, and the dependence of the mean-square radius of gyration on the molecular weight can be expressed by the general formula [S-2] = aM(b), which was supported by a number of experimental measurements. A comparison of our expression for the mean-square radius of gyration with that reported by Flory was made. The difference is obvious in the range of lower molecular weight, and gradually declines with increasing degree of polymerization.