Related papers: Charge Regulation of Polyelectrolyte Gels: Swellin…
The non-equilibrium steady states of a semi-infinite quasi-one-dimensional univalent binary electrolyte solution, characterised by non-vanishing electric currents, are investigated by means of Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) theory. Exact…
The structural arrest of a polymeric suspension might be driven by an increase of the cross--linker concentration, that drives the gel transition, as well as by an increase of the polymer density, that induces a glass transition. These…
We study mixtures of charged surfactants, which alone in solution form uni- and multilamellar vesicles, and oppositely charged polyelectrolytes (PEs). The phase behavior is investigated at fixed surfactant concentration as a function of the…
Acid-base equilibria directly influence the functionality and behavior of particles in a system. Due to the ionizing effects of acid-base functional groups, particles will undergo charge exchange. The degree of ionization and their…
Onsager's variational principle is generalized to address the diffusive dynamics of an electrolyte solution composed of charge-regulated macro-ions and counterions. The free energy entering the Rayleighian corresponds to the…
Recent experiments on crosslinked gels quenched from solvent-rich to solvent-poor conditions show solvent-rich domains embedded in a gel-rich matrix. These domains coarsen and then undergo kinetic arrest at micron scales for hours, before…
Plasma treatment of polymer films results in their electrical charging, which in turn gives rise to an increase in their surface energy. The process results in pronounced hydrophilization of the polymer surfaces. A phenomenological theory…
Surface-bound electric charge on polymer materials can strongly influence droplet behaviour and solid-liquid charge transfer, but the mechanisms and the means to control these effects remain unclear. In this work, we systematically…
We perform extensive molecular dynamics simulations of a highly charged flexible polyelectrolyte (PE) chain in a poor solvent for the case when the chain is in a collapsed state and the electrostatic interactions, characterized by the…
The rapid charging and/or discharging of electrochemical cells can lead to localized depletion of electrolyte concentration. This depletion can significantly impact the system's time dependent resistance. For systems with porous electrodes,…
We derive a multiphysics model that accounts for network elasticity with spontaneous strains, swelling and nematic interactions in liquid crystal gels (LCGs). We discuss the coupling among the various physical mechanisms, with particular…
A Poisson-Boltzmann approach is used to determine the double-layer integral and differential capacitances in a finite-length situation for an electrolytic cell. By means of simple analytical calculations, it is shown how these quantities…
The wetting properties of immiscible two-phase systems are crucial in a wide range of applications, from lab-on-a-chip devices to field-scale oil recovery. It has long been known that effective wetting properties can be altered by the…
While undergoing gelation transition, a material passes through a distinctive state called the critical gel state. In the neighborhood of this critical gel state, how viscosity, equilibrium modulus, and relaxation times evolve are…
Asymmetric valences in a binary electrolyte can significantly affect the performance of systems such as reverse electrodialysis cells, batteries, and supercapacitors. To generate a theoretical understanding of this effect, we consider a…
Ionic microgels are soft colloidal particles, composed of crosslinked polymer networks, that ionize and swell when dispersed in a good solvent. Swelling of these permeable, compressible particles involves a balance of electrostatic,…
Neutral or charged polymers that are densely end-grafted to surfaces form brush-like structures and are highly stretched under good-solvent conditions. We discuss and compare relevant results from scaling models, self-consistent-field…
By implementing the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann theory in a cell model, we theoretically investigate the influence of polyelectrolye gel permeability on ion densities and pH deviations inside the cavities of ionic microcapsules. Our…
We investigated the complexation of thermoresponsive anionic poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNiPAM) microgels and cationic $\epsilon$-polylysine ($\epsilon$-PLL) chains. By combining electrophoresis, light scattering, transmission electron…
We theoretically study transient electroosmotic flow of general Maxwell fluids through polyelectrolyte grafted nanochannel with a layered distribution of charges. By applying the method of Laplace transform, we semi-analytically obtain…