Compression of polyelectrolyte brushes in a salt-free theta solvent

Matsen, M. W. (2011) Compression of polyelectrolyte brushes in a salt-free theta solvent. European Physical Journal E, 34 (5). 45. ISSN 1292-8941 doi: 10.1140/epje/i2011-11045-4

Abstract/Summary

This paper examines the normal force between two opposing polyelectrolyte brushes and the interpenetration of their chains that is responsible for sliding friction. It focuses on the special case of semi-dilute brushes in a salt-free theta solvent, for which Zhulina and Borisov [J. Chem. Phys., {\bf 107}, 5952, (1997)] have derived analytical predictions using the classical strong-stretching theory (SST) introduced by Semenov and developed by Milner, Witten and Cates. Interestingly, the SST predicts that the brushes contract maintaining a polymer-free gap as they are compressed together, which provides an explanation for the ultra-low frictional forces observed in experiment. We examine the degree to which the SST predictions are affected by chain fluctuations by employing self-consistent field theory (SCFT). While the normal force is relatively unaffected, fluctuations are found to have a strong impact on brush interpenetration. Even still, the contraction of the brushes does significantly prolong the onset of interpenetration, implying that a sizeable normal force can be achieved before the sliding friction becomes significant.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/20434
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Publisher	Springer
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