Phase Separation Kinetics of Polyelectrolyte Solutions

带电大分子在水溶液中的聚集及其热力学稳定性在所有形式的生命中都是至关重要的。聚电解质溶液在水中表现出复杂的行为，并提出了许多智力挑战。利用光散射和中子散射进行了实验，并对聚电解质的相行为进行了理论和模型研究。该提案包含两大挑战。在第一章中，我们将探讨二价反离子在相似带电的聚电解质中聚集的性质和程度的分子起源。在第二章中，我们将测量和了解聚电解质溶液中的相分离动力学。建议研究的具体实验体系是含有已知数量的氯化钡的聚苯乙烯磺酸钠水溶液。这项拟议工作的结果将使人们对聚电解质的相行为有一个基本的了解。拟议的研究将对疾病控制和一些关键行业的医学研究产生影响，包括食品、化妆品、个人护理产品和制药。此外，聚电解质正在成为最重要、但最不为人所知的材料。对研究生进行这一重要研究领域的培训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.