Sliding Dynamics of Ring Chain on a Rod-Coil Block Copolymer in Rotaxane

Si-Yi Yan; Xiang-Hong Wang; Ke Li; Lin-Li He

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3711-9

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Sliding Dynamics of Ring Chain on a Rod-Coil Block Copolymer in Rotaxane

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-08-31

- Sliding Dynamics of Ring Chain on a Rod-Coil Block Copolymer in Rotaxane
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 9, Pages: 3203-3211(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China
  b.Shanghai Technical Institute of Electronics & Information, Shanghai 201411, China
  c.College of Electronics and Information Engineering, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai 200090, China
- Author bio：
  
  wangxianghong@stiei.edu.cn (X.H.W.)
  ke.li@shiep.edu.cn (K.L.)
  linlihe@wzu.edu.cn (L.L.H.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3711-9
  CLC：
- Received：21 February 2026，
  
  Accepted：09 April 2026，
  
  Online First：06 July 2026，
  
  Published：05 September 2026
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Yan, S. Y.; Wang, X. H.; Li, K.; He, L. L. Sliding dynamics of ring chain on a rod-coil block copolymer in rotaxane. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3203–3211

Si-Yi Yan, Xiang-Hong Wang, Ke Li, et al. Sliding Dynamics of Ring Chain on a Rod-Coil Block Copolymer in Rotaxane[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(9): 3203-3211.
Yan, S. Y.; Wang, X. H.; Li, K.; He, L. L. Sliding dynamics of ring chain on a rod-coil block copolymer in rotaxane. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3203–3211 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3711-9.

Si-Yi Yan, Xiang-Hong Wang, Ke Li, et al. Sliding Dynamics of Ring Chain on a Rod-Coil Block Copolymer in Rotaxane[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(9): 3203-3211. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3711-9.

摘要

The sliding dynamics of the ring chain in rod-coil rotaxanes depend non-monotonically on the rod-coil ratio

coil stretch

and ring size. Intermediate-time sub-diffusion arises from backbone heterogeneity. Diffusion is fastest on homogeneous chains and under moderate coil stretching

thereby guiding the design of tunable slide-ring materials.

Abstract

Rotaxanes are a class of mechanically interlocked polymers characterized by the sliding motion of ring molecules along a linear backbone. The dynamic behavior of a ring plays a critical role in determining its material properties. In this study

molecular dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the sliding dynamics of a ring on a rod-coil copolymer in rotaxane. We find that both the mean square displacement

$$ {g}_{3} \left(t\right) $$

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and the diffusion coefficient

of the rings are influenced by the rod-to-coil length ratio

the stretching degree

of the coil block

and the ring size

$$ {N}_{\mathrm{ring}} $$

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. The mean square displacement

$$ {g}_{3} \left(t\right) $$

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shows sub-diffusive behavior at intermediate time scales owing to the heterogeneous backbone. The diffusion coefficient exhibits nonmonotonic dependence on

and

first decreased and then increased as

increased

indicating that the ring diffused faster on more homogeneous copolymer chains.

increases with

under a moderate stretching degree of the coil block

but decreases under near full extension

which demonstrates that the dynamics of the ring are governed by a competition between the chain flattening and the coil block’s fluctuation. Similarly

ring size

$$ {N}_{\mathrm{ring}} $$

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has a nonmonotonic influence on the diffusion coefficient

. This study provides molecular-level insights into the manipulation of sliding dynamics in rod-coil-based rotaxanes

thereby offering a theoretical basis for the design of functional slide-ring materials through topological control.

关键词

Keywords

references

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