Collapse of telechelic star polymers to watermelon structures.

Conformational properties of star-shaped polymer aggregates that carry attractive end groups, called telechelic star polymers, are investigated by simulation and analytical variational theory. We focus on the case of low telechelic star polymer functionalities, f < or = 5, a condition which allows aggregation of all attractive monomers on one site. We establish the functionality- and polymerization-number dependence of the transition temperature from the "star burst" to the "watermelon" macroparticle structure. Extensions to telechelic stars featuring partially collapsed configurations are also discussed.