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Mixed brushes consisting of oppositely charged Y‐shaped polymers in salt free, monovalent, and divalent salt solutions
Author(s) -
Miliou Kalliopi,
Gergidis Leonidas N.,
Vlahos Costas
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2642-4169
pISSN - 2642-4150
DOI - 10.1002/pol.20200141
Subject(s) - divalent , salt (chemistry) , chemistry , polyelectrolyte , brush , polymer , salt solution , side chain , polymer chemistry , crystallography , materials science , organic chemistry , composite material
The conformation and the internal stratification of mixed brushes formed from oppositely charged Y(−) and Y(+)‐shaped chains in salt free, monovalent, and divalent salt solutions were studied by means of molecular dynamics simulations using the primitive model. Scaling relations of mixed brush height with respect to the grafting surface per chain, the ratio of the total positive to the total negative charge of polyelectrolyte chains, and salt concentrations were obtained. The simulations predicted that mixed brushes show a unique response to divalent salt (1:2) solutions. For symmetric brushes having the same spacer lengths, number of chains and charged units fractions the increase of the salt concentration leads to the enrichment of the outer brush surface with Y(+) units and the lamella microphase separation. For asymmetric brushes in high salt concentration cylindrical domain microphases are formed.