Related papers: Single chain properties of polyelectrolytes in poo…
A new quantitative theory for polyelectrolytes in salt free dilute solutions is developed. Depending on the electrostatic interaction strength, polyelectrolytes in solutions can undergo strong stretching (with polyelectrolyte dimension…
We perform extensive molecular dynamics simulations of a charged polymer in a good solvent in the regime where the chain is collapsed. We analyze the dependence of the gyration radius $R_g $ on the reduced Bjerrum length $\ell_B$ and find…
Using a continuum description, we account for fluctuations in the ionic solvent surrounding a Gaussian, charged chain and derive an effective short-ranged potential between the charges on the chain. This potential is repulsive at short…
The conformation of polyelectrolytes in the solution state has long been of interest in polymer science. Herein we utilize all atom molecular dynamics simulations (MD) and small-angle x-ray scattering experiments (SAXS) to elucidate the…
The collapse kinetics of strongly charged polyelectrolytes in poor solvents is investigated by Langevin simulations and scaling arguments. The rate of collapse increases sharply as the valence of counterions, z, increases from one to four.…
Structural and thermodynamic properties of the model solution containing charged oligomers and the equivalent number of counterions were studied by means of the canonical Monte Carlo simulation technique. The oligomers are represented as…
In this paper we analyze the behavior of hydrophobic polyelectrolytes. It has been proposed that this system adopts a pearl-necklace structure reminiscent of the Rayleigh instability of a charged droplet. Using a Poisson-Boltzmann approach,…
The effective elasticity of highly charged stiff polyelectrolytes is studied in the presence of counterions, with and without added salt. The rigid polymer conformations may become unstable due to an effective attraction induced by…
Interplay of Coulomb interaction energy, free ion entropy, and conformational elasticity is a fascinating aspect in polyelectrolytes (PEs). We develop a theory for complexation of two oppositely charged PEs, a process known to be the…
Strong coupling phenomena, such as the like charged macroions attraction, opposite charged macroions repulsion, charge renormalization or charge inversion, are known to be mediated by multivalent counterions. Most theories treat the…
In order to better understand the collapse of polyions in poor solvent conditions the effective charge and the solvent quality of the hypothetically uncharged polymer backbone need to be known. In the present work this is achieved by…
Conformation of single polyelectrolytes in tetravalent salt solutions is investigated under the framework of a coarse-grained model, using Langevin dynamics simulations. The chain size, studied by the radius of gyration, shows three…
Using molecular dynamics simulations, it is demonstrated that monovalent counterions can induce aggregation of similarly charged rod-like polyelectrolyte chains. The critical value of the linear charge density for aggregation is shown to be…
Light scattering and viscometric measurements on weak polyelectrolytes show two important aspects of counterion condensation, namely, non-monotonic variation in the polyelectrolyte size with the increase in the electrostatic strength, and,…
Hydrophobic polyelectrolytes have been predicted to adopt an unique pearl-necklace conformation in aqueous solvents. We present in this Letter an attempt to characterise quantitatively this conformation with a focus on $D_p$, the pearl…
The persistence length of a single, strongly charged, stiff polyelectrolyte chain is investigated theoretically. Path integral formulation is used to obtain the effective electrostatic interaction between the monomers. We find significant…
Constant temperature molecular dynamics simulations were used to study solutions of flexible polyelectrolyte chains at nonzero concentrations with explicit counterions and unscreened coulombic interactions. Counterion condensation, measured…
The effective elasticity of highly charged stiff polyelectrolytes is studied in the presence of counterions, with and without added salt. The rigid polymer conformations may become unstable due to an effective attraction induced by…
In this work we investigated the question of how the molecular nature of the dielectric media and the polymer-solvent dielectric mismatch affect the collapse of a polyelectrolyte chain in solution by means of dissipative particle dynamics…
Chain-like macromolecules in solution, whether biological or synthetic, transform from an extended conformation to a compact one when temperature or other system parameters change. This collapse transition is relevant in various phenomena,…