Dynamics of Associative Polymers with High Density of Reversible Bonds*

For more than 30 years, the understanding of associative polymers is that reversible bonds change the shape of linear viscoelastic spectra by adding a plateau in the intermediate frequency range, at which reversible bonds have not yet relaxed and act as crosslinks. We show this molecular picture is incorrect for homogenous associative polymers carrying high density of stickers. Our discovery is explained by a renormalized Rouse model that highlights an unexpected influence of reversible bonds on the structural relaxation rather than the shape of viscoelastic spectra of associative polymers.