Polyelectrolyte stars in planar confinement
Abstract
We employ monomer-resolved Molecular Dynamics simulations and theoretical considerations to analyze the conformations of multiarm polyelectrolyte stars close to planar, uncharged walls. We identify three mechanisms that contribute to the emergence of a repulsive star-wall force, namely: the confinement of the counterions that are trapped in the star interior, the increase in electrostatic energy due to confinement as well as a novel mechanism arising from the compression of the stiff polyelectrolyte rods approaching the wall. The latter is not present in the case of interaction between two polyelectrolyte stars and is a direct consequence of the impenetrable character of the planar wall.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0603756,
title = {Polyelectrolyte stars in planar confinement},
author = {Martin Konieczny and Christos N. Likos},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0603756},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
34 pages, 8 figures. Revised version of the manuscript. To appear in J. Chem. Phys. May, 2006