Cylindrical brushes with ionized side chains: Scaling theory revisited.

Zhulina, Ekaterina B; Borisov, Oleg V · Soft Matter · 2023

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We revisit the classic scaling model of a cylindrical polyelectrolyte (PE) brush focusing on molecular brushes with stiff backbones and dispersions of polymer-decorated nanorods. Based on the blob representation we demonstrate that similarly to the case of planar PE brushes, separation of intra- and intermolecular repulsions between charges leads to novel scaling regimes for cylindrical PE brushes in salt-added solution and a sharper decrease in its thickness <i>versus</i> salt concentration dependence. These theoretical predictions may inspire further comprehensive experimental research and computer simulations of synthetic and biopolyelectrolyte cylindrical brushes.