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Polyelectrolyte brushes in external fields: molecular dynamics simulations and mean-field theory
- Source :
- Soft matter. 11(28)
- Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- A mean-field model is developed to predict the layer-thickness of sparse and salt-free polyelectrolyte brushes, exposed to an external electric field, which attracts the polyelectrolytes to the substrate. In molecular dynamics simulations, it is shown that a fraction of polymers collapses entirely to screen the charge of the substrate. The remaining brushes are then treated as field-free brushes at reduced grafting density. The mean-field model may thus be applied to field-free brushes, both in their osmotic and their weak charge regimes. It yields simple, closed equations for the brush height and for the partition of counterions in- and outside the brushes, and accurately reproduces simulation data of the collapse of the brushes during the crossover between both charge regimes.
- Subjects :
- chemistry.chemical_classification
Quantitative Biology::Biomolecules
Osmosis
Materials science
Polymers
Brush
Nanotechnology
Charge (physics)
General Chemistry
Polymer
Substrate (electronics)
Molecular Dynamics Simulation
Condensed Matter Physics
digestive system
Polyelectrolyte
law.invention
Condensed Matter::Soft Condensed Matter
Molecular dynamics
Electrolytes
Computer Science::Graphics
chemistry
Mean field theory
law
Chemical physics
Electric field
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 17446848
- Volume :
- 11
- Issue :
- 28
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Soft matter
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....99b13ba7c1c3151de7e3d1d5d888c454