Diffusion of nanoparticles within a semidilute polyelectrolyte solution.

Senanayake, Kavindya K; Shokeen, Namita; Fakhrabadi, Ehsan Akbari; Liberatore, Matthew W; Mukhopadhyay, Ashis · Soft Matter · 2019

basic_science · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

We studied the diffusion of charged gold nanoparticles within a semidilute solution of weakly charged polyelectrolyte, polyacrylic acid (PAA) of high molecular weight (M<sub>w</sub> = 10<sup>6</sup> g mol<sup>-1</sup>) by using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). Nanoparticle size (d) was varied between 5 nm to 40 nm and PAA volume fraction (φ) in water ranged from about 8φ* to 33φ*, where φ* is the overlap volume fraction. The reduced diffusion coefficient - defined as -D/D<sub>o</sub>, where D is the diffusion coefficient in PAA solution and D<sub>o</sub> is that in neat water - has a weak dependence on the particle size. D follows a power law of the form ∼φ<sup>-0.5</sup>, which can be explained by a mean-field hydrodynamic theory in porous medium. Additional, rheology measurements showed a zero shear rate viscosity and shear thinning, which are typical of high molecular weight polyelectrolytes.