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Authors
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Merlitz, H. ; Li, C. ; Wu, C.-X. ; Sommer, J.-U.
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Title
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Polyelectrolyte brushes in external fields: molecular dynamics simulations and mean-field theory
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Date
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15.06.2015
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Number
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46841
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Abstract
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A mean-field model is developed to predict the layer-thickness of sparse and salt-free polyelectrolyte brushes, exposed to an external electric field, which attracts the polyelectrolytes to the substrate. In molecular dynamics simulations, it is shown that a fraction of polymers collapses entirely to screen the charge of the substrate. The remaining brushes are then treated as field-free brushes at reduced grafting density. The mean-field model may thus be applied to field-free brushes, both in their osmotic and their weak charge regimes. It yields simple, closed equations for the brush height and for the partition of counterions in- and outside the brushes, and accurately reproduces simulation data of the collapse of the brushes during the crossover between both charge regimes.
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Publisher
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Soft Matter
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Wikidata
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Citation
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Soft Matter 11 (2015) 5688-5696
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DOI
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https://doi.org/10.1039/C5SM01275A
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Tags
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