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Depletion and structural forces in confined polyelectrolyte solutions

Jönsson, Bo LU ; Broukhno, Andrei LU ; Forsman, Jan LU and Åkesson, Torbjörn LU (2003) In Langmuir 19(23). p.9914-9922
Abstract
Monte Carlo simulations and density functional calculations have been performed for charged macromolecules confined to planar slits. The force between the confining walls has been evaluated as a function of separation, while keeping the chemical potential of the macromolecules constant. Highly charged spherical particles and flexible polyelectrolyte chains in confinement give rise to depletion and structural oscillatory forces as a function of surface separation. The sign and magnitude of the surface charge of the confining walls have no dramatic effect on the qualitative behavior of the confined liquid. With neutral or oppositely charged surfaces, an accumulation of charged macroions is seen in the slit driven by the repulsive interaction... (More)
Monte Carlo simulations and density functional calculations have been performed for charged macromolecules confined to planar slits. The force between the confining walls has been evaluated as a function of separation, while keeping the chemical potential of the macromolecules constant. Highly charged spherical particles and flexible polyelectrolyte chains in confinement give rise to depletion and structural oscillatory forces as a function of surface separation. The sign and magnitude of the surface charge of the confining walls have no dramatic effect on the qualitative behavior of the confined liquid. With neutral or oppositely charged surfaces, an accumulation of charged macroions is seen in the slit driven by the repulsive interaction between the macroions, while equally charged surfaces give rise to a pure depletion. The net charge, the range of interaction, and the particle density affect the details of the force curve. For spherical macroions, the period of the oscillations scales approximately as the bulk aggregate concentration, C-bulk(-1/3). Confined polyelectrolyte chains share some of these properties, but they partly display a different behavior. One clear difference is that the polyelectrolyte net charge, that is, the degree of polymerization, has no effect on the osmotic pressure. This is an indication that polyelectrolyte chains pack not as spheres but rather as cylindrical objects. Another difference is that the effective repulsive interaction between polyelectrolyte chains can be more long ranged and oscillatory forces can appear more readily than for a corresponding solution of equally charged spherical macroions. (Less)
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author
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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
LIQUID, MEAN-FIELD, POLYMERS, SOLVATION FORCES, OSCILLATORY FORCES, SYSTEMS, FOAM FILMS, MONTE-CARLO SIMULATIONS, DENSITY-FUNCTIONAL THEORY, SURFACES
in
Langmuir
volume
19
issue
23
pages
9914 - 9922
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • wos:000186484800056
  • scopus:17944387134
ISSN
0743-7463
DOI
10.1021/la034850e
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Theoretical Chemistry (S) (011001039)
id
f31ba462-2c8d-45c4-b3c1-908b9f2ed5af (old id 1417018)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:42:17
date last changed
2023-01-02 22:09:17
@article{f31ba462-2c8d-45c4-b3c1-908b9f2ed5af,
  abstract     = {{Monte Carlo simulations and density functional calculations have been performed for charged macromolecules confined to planar slits. The force between the confining walls has been evaluated as a function of separation, while keeping the chemical potential of the macromolecules constant. Highly charged spherical particles and flexible polyelectrolyte chains in confinement give rise to depletion and structural oscillatory forces as a function of surface separation. The sign and magnitude of the surface charge of the confining walls have no dramatic effect on the qualitative behavior of the confined liquid. With neutral or oppositely charged surfaces, an accumulation of charged macroions is seen in the slit driven by the repulsive interaction between the macroions, while equally charged surfaces give rise to a pure depletion. The net charge, the range of interaction, and the particle density affect the details of the force curve. For spherical macroions, the period of the oscillations scales approximately as the bulk aggregate concentration, C-bulk(-1/3). Confined polyelectrolyte chains share some of these properties, but they partly display a different behavior. One clear difference is that the polyelectrolyte net charge, that is, the degree of polymerization, has no effect on the osmotic pressure. This is an indication that polyelectrolyte chains pack not as spheres but rather as cylindrical objects. Another difference is that the effective repulsive interaction between polyelectrolyte chains can be more long ranged and oscillatory forces can appear more readily than for a corresponding solution of equally charged spherical macroions.}},
  author       = {{Jönsson, Bo and Broukhno, Andrei and Forsman, Jan and Åkesson, Torbjörn}},
  issn         = {{0743-7463}},
  keywords     = {{LIQUID; MEAN-FIELD; POLYMERS; SOLVATION FORCES; OSCILLATORY FORCES; SYSTEMS; FOAM FILMS; MONTE-CARLO SIMULATIONS; DENSITY-FUNCTIONAL THEORY; SURFACES}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{23}},
  pages        = {{9914--9922}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{Langmuir}},
  title        = {{Depletion and structural forces in confined polyelectrolyte solutions}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/la034850e}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/la034850e}},
  volume       = {{19}},
  year         = {{2003}},
}