Mesoscopic non-equilibrium thermodynamics approach to the dynamics of polymers

Abstract

We present a general formalism able to derive the kinetic equations of polymer dynamics. It is based on the application of nonequilibrium thermodynamics to analyze the irreversible processes taking place in the conformational space of the macromolecules. The Smoluchowski equation results from the analysis of the underlying diffusion process in that space within the scheme of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. We apply the method to different situations, concerning flexible, semiflexible and rod-like polymers and to the case of more concentrated solutions in which interactions become important.