Amir Amini, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, Pierre Gilles de Gennes, Physique de la Matière Condensée, C.N.R.S. UMR 7125 & Fédération de Recherche MSC (FR 2438), Collège de France, 11 place Marcelin Berthelot, Paris, France, and Marc Robert, Rice Quantum Institute, and Richard E. Smally Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005.
Using scaling arguments, we show how the diffusivity of a polymer chain in a colloidal suspension varies with the extent of the confinement and the polymerization index, as well as with the colloidal concentration. These predictions are compared with experimental results.