Related papers: Random Polyelectrolytes and Polyampholytes in Solu…
The lattice field theory approach to the statistical mechanics of a classical Coulomb gas [R. Coalson and A. Duncan, J. Chem. Phys. 97,5653(1992)] is generalized to include charged polymer chains. Saddle-point analysis is done on the…
We develop a first-principle equation of state of salt-free polyelectrolyte solution in the limit of infinitely long flexible polymer chains in the framework of a field-theoretical formalism beyond the linear Debye-Hueckel theory and…
We investigate theoretically the phase diagram of an insoluble charged surfactant monolayer in contact with a semi-dilute polyelectrolyte solution (of opposite charge). The polyelectrolytes are assumed to have long-range and attractive…
Mean-field theory and scaling arguments are presented to model polyelectrolyte adsorption from semi-dilute solutions onto charged surfaces. Using numerical solutions of the mean-field equations, we show that adsorption exists only for…
We perform an exact enumeration study of polymers formed from a (quenched) random sequence of charged monomers $\pm q_0$. Such polymers, known as polyampholytes, are compact when completely neutral and expanded when highly charged. Our…
Polymer electrolytes are intensely investigated for use as solid electrolytes in next generation lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries. However, little is known about the structural and dynamical properties of polymer electrolytes close…
The physical chemistry of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of polymer solutions bears directly on the assembly of biologically functional droplet-like bodies from proteins and nucleic acids. These biomolecular condensates include…
We consider the phase behavior of polymeric systems by calculating the structure factors beyond the Random Phase Approximation. The effect of this correction to the mean-field RPA structure factor is shown to be important in the case of…
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…
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…
Polyampholytes (PAs) are polymers composed of (quenched) random sequences of positive and negatively charged monomeric groups. We show that the radius of gyration, $R_g$, of a PA strongly depends on its overall excess charge $Q$, and is…
Using Poisson-Boltzmann equation and linear response theory, we derive an effective interaction potential due to a fixed charge distribution in a solution containing polyelectrolytes and point salt. We obtain an expression for the effective…
Phase separation in salt-free symmetric mixtures of oppositely charged rodlike polyelectrolytes is studied using quasi-analytical calculations. Stability analyses for the isotropic-isotropic and the isotropic-nematic phase transitions in…
The influence of the chain degree of ionization on the adsorption of weak polyelectrolytes on neutral and on oppositely and likely charged surfaces is investigated for the first time, by means of Monte Carlo simulations with the mesoscopic…
We present a theory for the equilibrium structure of polyelectrolyte solutions. The main element is a simple, new optimization scheme that allows theories such as the random phase approximation (RPA) to handle the harsh repulsive forces…
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…
Spatial configurations of randomly charged polymers, known as polyampholytes (PAs), are very sensitive to the overall excess charge Q. Analytical arguments, supported by Monte Carlo simulations and exact enumeration studies, lead to the…
We study a solution of long polyanions (PA) with shorter polycations (PC) and focus on the role of Coulomb interaction. A good example is solutions of DNA and PC which are widely studied for gene therapy. In the solution, each PA attracts…
We study an undirected polymer chain living on the 1-dimensional integer lattice and carrying i.i.d.\ random charges. Each self-intersection of the polymer contributes to the Hamiltonian an energy that is equal to the product of the charges…
We investigate electro-osmosis in aqueous solutions of polyelectrolytes using mean-field equations. A solution of positively charged polyelectrolytes is confined between two negatively charged planar surfaces, and an electric field is…