Coherent States Field Theory for Supramolecular Dendron-like Polymers*

Supramolecular assembly provides a powerful venue for creating intricate polymer architectures whose direct synthesis would be difficult or impossible. In this study, we explore the use of ABn miktoarm star copolymer and An star homopolymer with terminal functional groups as supramolecular building blocks to construct a range of reversible dendron-like copolymers. To study such systems, we apply the coherent states (CS) field-theoretic representation in tandem with a mean-field approximation. The CS framework is advantaged over the conventional auxiliary field (AF) representation because it eliminates the need for explicit enumeration of all reaction products. We show how the thermally tunable phase behavior is influenced by the placement of reactive groups, their binding strength, and their self vs. hetero-complementary character. In particular, the deflection of phase boundaries and relative stability of complex sphere phases is explored and compared with non-reactive miktoarm stars.