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Title: Polyelectrolyte Complex Coacervation across a Broad Range of Charge Densities

Journal Article · · Macromolecules

Polyelectrolyte complex coacervates of homologous (co)polyelectrolytes with a near-ideally random distribution of a charged and neutral ethylene oxide comonomer were synthesized. The unique platform provided by these building blocks enabled an investigation of the phase behavior across charge fractions 0.10 ≤ f ≤ 1.0. Experimental phase diagrams for f = 0.30–1.0 were obtained from thermogravimetric analysis of complex and supernatant phases and contrasted with molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical scaling laws. At intermediate to high f, a dependence of polymer weight fraction in the salt-free coacervate phase (wP,c) of wP,c ~ f0.37±0.01 was extracted; this trend was in good agreement with accompanying simulation predictions. Below f = 0.50, wP,c was found to decrease more dramatically, qualitatively in line with theory and simulations predicting an exponent of 2/3 at f ≤ 0.25. Preferential salt partitioning to either coacervate or supernatant was found to be dictated by the chemistry of the constituent (co)polyelectrolytes.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; National Science Foundation (NSF); National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Center for Hierarchical Materials Design (CHiMaD)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1815825
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1868968
Journal Information:
Macromolecules, Vol. 54, Issue 14; ISSN 0024-9297
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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