The size and shape of snowflake star polymers in dilute solutions: analytical and numerical approaches

Abstract: We investigate the conformational properties of a multi-branched polymer structure with a dendrimer-like topology, known as a snowflake polymer. This polymer is characterized by two parameters: $f_s$, which represents the functionality of the central star-like core, and $f$, which represents the functionality of the side branching points. To analyze the conformational properties, we have employed various approaches, including analytical methods based on direct polymer renormalization and the Wei's approach as well as numerical molecular dynamics simulations. These methods have allowed us to estimate a size and shape characteristics of the snowflake polymer as functions of $f$ and $f_s$. Our findings consistently demonstrate the effective compactification of the typical polymer conformation as the number of branching points increases. Overall, our study provides valuable insights into the conformational behavior of the snowflake polymer and highlights the impact of branching parameters on its overall compactness.