Phase Separation Kinetics of Polyelectrolyte Solutions

水溶液中带电大分子的聚类及其热力学稳定性对所有生命形式都至关重要。聚电解质溶液在水中表现出复杂的行为，提出了许多智力挑战。提出了光散射和中子散射实验，以及多电解质相行为的理论和模型研究。该提案包含两个主要挑战。首先，将探讨由二价反离子介导的类似带电聚电解质的性质和聚集程度的分子起源。其次，将测量和了解聚电解质溶液中的相分离动力学。提出的研究的具体实验系统是含有已知量的氯化钡的聚苯乙烯磺酸钠水溶液。所提出的工作结果将提供对多电解质相行为的基本理解。拟议的研究将对疾病控制的医学研究以及包括食品、化妆品、个人护理产品和药品在内的一些关键行业产生影响。此外，聚电解质正在成为最重要的，也是最不为人所知的材料。在这一重要研究领域培养研究生是拟议活动的重要教育组成部分。

Clustering of charged macromolecules in aqueous solutions and their thermodynamic stability are of central importance in all forms of life. Polyelectrolyte solutions in water exhibit complex behavior and present many intellectual challenges. Experiments using light scattering and neutron scattering, and theoretical and modeling investigations of polyelectrolyte phase behavior are proposed. The proposal contains two major challenges. In the first, the molecular origins of the nature and extent of clustering among similarly charged polyelectrolytes mediated by divalent counterions will be explored. In the second, the kinetics of phase separation in polyelectrolyte solutions will be measured and understood. The specific experimental system of the proposed research is aqueous solutions of sodium polystyrene sulfonate containing known amounts of barium chloride. The results of the proposed work will provide a fundamental understanding of polyelectrolyte phase behavior.The proposed research will have impact in medical research on disease control and a number of key industries including food, cosmetics, personal care products, and pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, polyelectrolytes are emerging to be the most important, and least understood, materials. Training of graduate students in this important research area is the strong educational component of the proposed activity.