A novel interpretation of concentration dependence of viscosity of dilute polymer solution

The concentration dependence of the reduced viscosity of dilute polymer solution is interpreted in the light of a new concept of the self-association of polymer chains in dilute solution. The apparent self-association constant is defined as the molar association constant divided by the molar mass of individual polymer chain and is numerically interconvertible with the Huggins coefficient. The molar association constant is directly proportional to the effective hydrodynamic volume of the polymer chain in solution and is irrespective of the chain architecture. The effective hydrodynamic volume accounts for the non-spherical conformation of a short polymer chain in solution and is a product of a shape factor and hydrodynamic volume. The observed enhancement of Huggins coefficient for short chain and branched polymer is satisfactorily interpreted by the concept of self-association. The concept of self-association allows us to predict the existence of a boundary concentration C-s(dynamic contact concentration) which divides the dilute polymer solution into two regions.