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PUBLICATIONS

Influence of Higher Valence Ions on Flexible Polyelectrolytes Stiffness and Counter-ion Distribution

Published

Author(s)

Alexandros Chremos, Jack F. Douglas

Abstract

We investigate the influence of counter-ion valency on the flexibility of highly charged flexible polymer chains by molecular dynamics simulations that include both salt and an explicit solvent. As observed experimentally, we find that divalent counter-ions greatly reduce the chain persistence length, lp, in comparison to monovalent counter-ions, an effect correlated with the tendency of the polyelectrolyte chain to become distorted by divalent counter-ions in their close proximity. This coiling effect is further enhanced with trivalent counter-ions, making the polymer adopt a relatively compact state.
Citation
Journal of Chemical Physics
Volume
144
Pub Type
Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4947221

Keywords

polyelectrolytes, polymer solutions, polymer stiffeness, counter-ions, counter-ion valence
Theoretical chemistry and modeling, Polymers and Nanomaterials

Citation

Chremos, A. and Douglas, J. (2016), Influence of Higher Valence Ions on Flexible Polyelectrolytes Stiffness and Counter-ion Distribution, Journal of Chemical Physics, [online], https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4947221 (Accessed April 19, 2024)

Created April 28, 2016, Updated November 10, 2018