IMCN seminar - Prof. Joe SCHLENOFF

IMCN SEMINAR

« Processing Polyelectrolyte Complexes With Salt »

Prof. Joe SCHLENOFF

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

The Florida State University

ABSTRACT

Polymers have various mechanisms for interacting with each other, the most common is through entanglement at high concentration. Polymers with opposite charge can also stick to each other via pairs between charged segments. These interactions can be finely tuned by changing the salt concentration in solution. The linear viscoelastic responses for a series of polyelectrolyte complexes, PECs, having various molecular weights were measured. All characteristic lifetimes were slowed by “sticky” dynamics of positive, Pol+ and negative, Pol-, pairing, which could be accelerated by adding salt to the solution. Relaxation times for polymer partnering, entanglement and reptation were measured directly on some systems.