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Polyelectrolyte Complexes Consisting of Macromolecules With Varied Stiffness: Computer Simulation
Author(s) -
Lazutin Alexei A.,
Semenov Alexander N.,
Vasilevskaya Valentina V.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
macromolecular theory and simulations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1521-3919
pISSN - 1022-1344
DOI - 10.1002/mats.201100097
Subject(s) - monomer , polyelectrolyte , macromolecule , stiffness , chain (unit) , chemical physics , monte carlo method , ionic bonding , crystallography , chemistry , position (finance) , globular protein , phase (matter) , phase transition , materials science , polymer chemistry , thermodynamics , physics , polymer , ion , organic chemistry , composite material , mathematics , biochemistry , statistics , finance , astronomy , economics
Monte Carlo simulations are employed in order to analyze the structure of polyelectrolyte complexes consisting of two identical but oppositely charged macroions with varying chain stiffness. It is shown that two complex structures can arise depending on the stiffness of the constituent chains. Stiff chains are organized into a “ladder” structure in which chains are located parallel to each other and monomeric units are arranged into ionic pairs according to their position in the chain. Flexible chains form a globular “scrambled‐egg” structure with a disordered position of monomer units. The conformational transition between the two structures proceeds as a phase transition.