Konformation geladener Polymere in Lösung und an Grenzflächen

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jean-Francois Joanny
• Subject Area: Preparatory and Physical Chemistry of Polymers
• Term: from 1998 to 2003
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5113044

The proposed research deals with various aspects of the theoretical description of charged polymers in solution in water. It corresponds in part to the continuation of the thesis work of M. Castelnovo financed by the DFG and in part to work done in collaboration with German colleagues in Berlin or in Mainz. Three aspects will be considered: polyelectrolyte adsorption, polyampholytes and counterion condensation. The work on polyelectrolyte adsorption will aim at giving a quantitative description of polyelectrolyte multilayers which are formed by successive adsorption of polyelectrolytes of opposite charges. Two aspects will be emphasized, the influence of the chain stiffness and the complexation between polymers of opposite charges at the interface between consecutive layers. The electrophoresis of particles coated with adsorbed polyelectrolytes will also be considered. The work on polyampholyte is motivated by two experiments performed in Strasbourg, the micromanipulation of polyampholyte chains pulled from a surface and the properties of dense polyampholyte solutions. Finally we will study counterion condensation in situations when it is not homogeneous: typical examples are a rodlike polyelectrolyte adsorbing on a surface of opposite charge or the condensation on the so-called pearl-necklace structure.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1009: Polyelektrolyte mit definierter Molekülarchitektur
• International Connection: France