Related papers: Microphase Segregation in Polyelectrolyte Brushes
We introduce a generalized non-uniform mean-field formalism to describe the dissociation of weak rod-like polyelectrolytes (PEs). Our approach allows for two-sublattice symmetry breaking which in titration curves is associated with a…
In this paper we perform molecular dynamics simulations of a spherical polyelectrolyte brush and counterions in a salt-free medium. The dielectric discontinuity on the grafted nanoparticle surface is taken into account by the method of…
We investigate the effect of counterion fluctuations in a single polyelectrolyte brush in the absence of added salt by systematically expanding the counterion free energy about Poisson-Boltzmann mean field theory. We find that for strongly…
Hydrophobic polyelectrolytes (HPE) can solubilize bilayer membranes, form micelles or can reversibly aggregate as a function of pH. The transitions are often remarkably sharp. We show that these cooperative transitions occur by a…
Shear responsive surfaces offer potential advances in a number of applications. Surface functionalisation using polymer brushes is one route to such properties, particularly in the case of entangled polymers. We report on neutron…
Understanding the behavior of charged complex fluids is crucial for a plethora of important industrial, technological, and medical applications. Using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, here we investigate the properties of a…
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…
With the ever-increasing digitization of society, the development of materials with low-power memory storage -similar to synapses- is becoming more relevant. The field of iontronic artificial synapses has gained traction, in particular with…
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…
We investigate polyelectrolyte brushes in the osmotic regime using both theoretical analysis and molecular dynamics simulation techniques. In the simulations at moderate Bjerrum length, we observe that the brush height varies weakly with…
We studied polyelectrolyte adsorption on a repulsive charged surface by scaling analysis. At low ionic strength and low surface charge density in which a single polyelectrolyte is able to be adsorbed onto the surface, different regimes in…
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…
The formation of coacervates through phase separation of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes (PEs) is critical for understanding biological condensates and developing responsive materials. Traditionally, coacervates are viewed as spherical…
The structural features of polystyrene brushes grafted on spherical silica nanoparticles immersed in polystyrene are investigated by means of a Monte Carlo methodology based on polymer mean field theory. The nanoparticle radii (either 8 nm…
We report on the formation of colloidal complexes resulting from the electrostatic self-assembly of polyelectrolyte-neutral block copolymers and oppositely charged surfactants. The copolymers investigated are asymmetric and characterized by…
Polymer brushes normally swell in a good solvent and collapse in a poor solvent. An abnormal response of polymer brushes, so-called co-nonsolvency, is the phenomenon where the brush counter-intuitively collapses in a good solvent mixture.…
Zeolites, as representative porous materials, possess intricate three-dimensional frameworks that endow them with high surface areas and remarkable catalytic properties. There are a few factors that give a huge influence on the catalytic…
Polyelectrolyte (PE) hydrogels can dynamically respond to external stimuli, such as changes in pH and temperature, which benefits their use for smart materials and nanodevices with tunable properties. We investigate equilibrium…
Using an interface displacement model derived from a microscopic density functional theory we investigate thin liquidlike wetting layers adsorbed on flat substrates with an embedded chemical heterogeneity forming a stripe. For a wide range…
We study self-assembly of a binary mixture of components A and B confined in a slit-like pore with the walls modified by the stripes of tethered brushes made of beads of a sort A. The emphasis is on solvent mediated transitions between…