Poor solvent (source code)

= Poor solvent

A <poor solvent> favors effective attraction between <polymer> segments relative to solvent contacts. A dilute flexible chain tends to contract, and sufficiently unfavorable conditions produce a compact <polymer globule>. Solvent quality depends on the polymer, solvent and <temperature>. The simple <Flory–Huggins solution theory> identifies the poor-solvent side of the theta condition with $\chi>1/2$; this does not guarantee that every finite-density mixture is inside its spinodal.