Role of chain connectivity in viscoelastic properties of polymeric liquids: A review

Chemical connectivity within a polymeric chain molecule and the inter-chain uncrossability are the key factors determining the viscoelastic properties of amorphous polymeric liquids. This paper briefly reviews the role of the connectivity/uncrossability in the relaxation behavior of polymeric liquids. Specifically, a focus is placed on how the uncrossability of the polymer chains results in the entanglement relaxation that distinguishes the polymeric materials from non-polymeric materials such as metals.