Related papers: Ion Correlation-Driven Hysteretic Adhesion and Rep…
Modeling ion correlations in inhomogeneous polymers and soft matters with spatially varying ionic strength or dielectric permittivity remains a great challenge. Here, we develop a new theory which systematically incorporates electrostatic…
Polyelectrolyte (PE) brushes have ubiquitous applications as surface modifiers which regulate various structural and dynamic properties. Here, we apply a continuous-space self-consistent field theory to study the structural heterogeneity in…
In this paper, we study electrostatic and structural properties between pH-responsive polyelectrolyte brushes by using a strong stretching theory accounting for excluded volume interactions, the density of polyelectrolyte chargeable sites…
Effective electrostatic interactions between colloidal particles, coated with polyelectrolyte brushes and suspended in an electrolyte solvent, are described via linear response theory. The inner cores of the macroions are modeled as hard…
Protein brushes not only play a key role in the functionality of neurofilaments but also have wide applications in biomedical materials. Here, we investigate the effect of ionic strength on the morphology of protein brushes using a…
Recent experiments have shown that trivalent ion, spermidine$^{3+}$, can provoke lateral microphase segregation in DNA brushes. Using molecular simulations and simple theoretical arguments, we explore the effects of trivalent counterions on…
Polyelectrolyte brushes consist of a set of charged linear macromolecules each tethered at one end to a surface. An example is the glycocalyx which refers to hair-like negatively charged sugar molecules that coat the outside membrane of all…
Multivalent ions in solutions with polyelectrolytes (PE) induce electrostatic correlations that can drastically change ion distributions around the PEs and their mutual interactions. Using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, we…
Polyelectrolytes are commonly used to chelate multi-valent ions in aqueous solutions, playing a critical role in water softening and the prevention of mineralization. At sufficient ionic strength, ion-mediated…
In this paper, we present a molecular theory analysis of ions and potential distribution, degree of ionization of polyelectrolyte (PE) brushes, velocity profile, volumetric flow rate, ionic selectivity, ionic conduction and advection by…
In this paper, we study the electrostatics of pH-responsive polyelectrolyte-grafted spherical particles by using a strong stretching theory that takes into account the excluded volume interaction and the density of chargeable sites on the…
The interaction force between likely charged particles/surfaces is usually repulsive due to the Coulomb interaction. However, the counterintuitive like-charge attraction in electrolytes has been frequently observed in experiments, which has…
Understanding the effect of inhomogeneity on the charge regulation and dielectric properties, and how it depends on the conformational characteristics of the macromolecules is a long-standing problem. In order to address this problem, we…
The electrostatic correlations between ions profoundly influence the structure and forces within electrical double layers. Here, we apply the modified Gaussian Renormalized Fluctuation theory to investigate the counter-intuitive phenomenon…
The electrostatic double layer force is key to determining the stability and self-assembly of charged colloids and many other soft matter systems. Fully understanding the attractive force between two like-charged surfaces remains a great…
The study of the electrical double layer lies at the heart of colloidal and interfacial science. The standard mean-field Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) theory is incapable of modeling many phenomena originated from ion correlation. An important…
Classical theory of the electric double layer is based on the fundamental assumption of a dilute solution of point ions. There are a number of situations such as high applied voltages, high concentration of electrolytes, systems with…
Interplay between counterion-mediated interaction and stiffness inherent to polymer chain can bring substantial complexity to the morphology and dynamics of polyelectrolyte brush condensates. Trivalent counterions induce collapse of…
We theoretically investigate electrostatic properties between two charged surfaces with a grafted polyelectrolyte layer in an aqueous electrolyte solution by using the Poisson-Boltzmann approach accounting for ion partitioning. In order to…
The behavior of polyelectrolytes between charged surfaces immersed in semi-dilute solutions is investigated theoretically. A continuum mean field approach is used for calculating numerically concentration profiles between two electrodes…