Related papers: Structure of Polyelectrolytes in Poor Solvent
We use a version of the density functional theory to study the solvation force between two plates modified with a tethered layer of chains. The chains are built of tangentially jointed charged spherical segments. The plates are immersed in…
A brief review is presented of the scaling of complex fluids, polymers and polyelectrolytes in solution and in confined geometry, in thermodynamical, structural and rheology properties using equilibrium and nonequilibrium dissipative…
We simulate the formation of cyclical arms in star polymers, focusing on the effects of solvent quality on their resulting linking complexity and gyration radius. We find that polymers circularized in bad solvent present a higher degree of…
We explore interactions between equally charged surfaces, in the presence of simple salt and either neutral or monovalently charged polyampholytes. We consider the possibility of using these charged polymers as crude models of ion clusters.…
We study the bending rigidity of highly charged stiff polyelectrolytes, for both a single chain and many chains forming a bundle. A theory is developed to account for the interplay between competitive binding of counterions and charge…
Polymer composite materials are widely used for their exceptional mechanical properties, notably their ability to resist large deformations. Here we examine the failure stress and strain of rubbers reinforced by varying amounts of…
Coulomb charges confined by a harmonic potential display a rich structure at strong coupling, both classical and quantum. A simple density functional theory is reviewed showing the essential role of correlations in forming shell structure…
We revisit the classical problem of the behavior of an isolated linear polymer chain in confined spaces, introducing the distinction between two different confinement regimes (the {\it weak} and the {\it strong} confinement regimes,…
Topological constraints can affect both equilibrium and dynamic properties of polymer systems, and can play a role in the organization of chromosomes. Despite many theoretical studies, the effects of topological constraints on the…
Polyelectrolytes such as single and double stranded DNA and many synthetic polymers undergo two structural transitions upon increasing the concentration of multivalent salt or molecules. First, the expanded-stretched chains in low…
Force induced stretching of polymers is important in a variety of contexts. We have used theory and simulations to describe the response of homopolymers, with $N$ monomers, to force ($f$) in good and poor solvents. In good solvents and for…
We consider a statistical mechanical model of a generic flexible polyelectrolyte, comprised of identically charged monomers with long range electrostatic interactions, and short-range interactions quantified by a disorder field along the…
We propose a detailed description of the structure of the layer formed by polyelectrolyte chains adsorbed onto an oppositely charged surface in the semi-dilute regime. We combine the mean-field Poisson-Boltzmann-Edwards theory and the…
We investigate the collapse and expansion dynamics of a linear polyelectrolyte (PE) with hydrodynamic interactions. Using dissipative particle dynamics with a bead-spring PE model, long-range electrostatics and explicit ions we examine how…
The collapse of flexible polyelectrolytes in a solution of multivalent counterions is studied by means of a two state model. The states correspond to rod-like and spherically collapsed conformations respectively. We focus on the very dilute…
Seemingly unrelated experiments such as electrolyte transport through nanotubes, nano-scale electrochemistry, NMR relaxometry and Surface Force Balance measurements, all probe electrical fluctuations: of the electric current, the charge and…
We present a Monte Carlo simulation of a polymer nematic for varying volume fractions, concentrating on the structure function of the sample. We achieve nematic ordering with stiff polymers made of spherical monomers that would otherwise…
We present a model for describing flexible polyelectrolytes in a good solvent a nd in the presence of monovalent salt . The molecule composed by $N$ monomers is characterized by the end to end distanc e $R_e=b (Z-1)^\gamma$ and the number…
Conformational transitions of flexible molecules, especially those driven by hydrophobic effects, tend to be hindered by desolvation barriers. For such transitions, it is thus important to characterize and understand the interplay between…
A polymer chain tethered to a surface may be compact or extended, adsorbed or desorbed, depending on interactions with the surface and the surrounding solvent. This leads to a rich phase diagram with a variety of transitions. To investigate…