How good are coarse-grained polymer models? A comparison for atactic polystyrene.

This review provides an overview of the various coarse-grained models that have been developed in the past few years for amorphous polystyrene. Different techniques to develop the force fields and different mapping schemes lead to models that perform differently depending on the properties investigated. This review collects and compares the models to guide the reader in the choice of the best model for the application of interest. It is expected that the central features of the various coarse-graining procedures will also apply to systems other than polystyrene and that some of the conclusions about different coarse-graining strategies are general.