TY - GEN
T1 - Nanoscale pattern formation in polyelectrolyte gels
AU - Jha, Prateek K.
AU - Solis, Francisco
AU - De Pablo, Juan J.
AU - De La Cruz, Monica Olvera
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Polyelectrolyte (PE) gels exhibit complex phase behavior that includes the existence of nanostructures in poor-solvent conditions. The formation of these inhomogeneous structures is made possible by the competition between the short-range hydrophobic, elastic, and entropic interactions and the long-range electrostatic forces. We develop a theoretical framework that describes the effect of monomer and charge inhomogeneities in PE gels. Numerical calculations performed on a salt-free PE gel with one-dimensional heterogeneities demonstrate the presence of nanophases for a finite range of physical parameters.
AB - Polyelectrolyte (PE) gels exhibit complex phase behavior that includes the existence of nanostructures in poor-solvent conditions. The formation of these inhomogeneous structures is made possible by the competition between the short-range hydrophobic, elastic, and entropic interactions and the long-range electrostatic forces. We develop a theoretical framework that describes the effect of monomer and charge inhomogeneities in PE gels. Numerical calculations performed on a salt-free PE gel with one-dimensional heterogeneities demonstrate the presence of nanophases for a finite range of physical parameters.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79951964608&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:79951964608
SN - 9781617822131
T3 - Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings
SP - 1
EP - 6
BT - Responsive Gels and Biopolymer Assemblies
T2 - 2009 MRS Fall Meeting
Y2 - 30 November 2009 through 2 December 2009
ER -