Measurement of Phase Transition Free Energies in Polyelectrolyte−Surfactant Complexes

When polyelectrolytes are mixed with oppositely charged surfactants at a 1:1 charge ratio, long-range ordered polyelectrolyte−surfactant complexes are formed. In this paper we demonstrate that by using the “Luzzati method” combined with osmotic stress measurements, we were able to determine the poly...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMacromolecules Vol. 43; no. 9; pp. 4379 - 4383
Main Authors Leonard, Michael, Strey, Helmut H
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington, DC American Chemical Society 11.05.2010
Subjects
Applied sciences
Exact sciences and technology
Organic polymers
Physicochemistry of polymers
Properties and characterization
Solution and gel properties
Quaternary ammonium compound
Polyelectrolyte
Acrylamide copolymer
Cationic surfactant
Theoretical study
Aqueous solution
Small angle X ray scattering
Acrylate salt copolymer
Complexes
Saline solution
Phase transitions
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Summary:When polyelectrolytes are mixed with oppositely charged surfactants at a 1:1 charge ratio, long-range ordered polyelectrolyte−surfactant complexes are formed. In this paper we demonstrate that by using the “Luzzati method” combined with osmotic stress measurements, we were able to determine the polyelectrolyte−surfactant free energy change while transitioning from a Pm3n cubic phase to a hexagonal phase. Assuming that the major contribution to this energy originates from bending energies associated with the structural rearrangements of the surfactants, we determined the bending modulus of the surfactant inside the complex.
ISSN:0024-9297
1520-5835
DOI:10.1021/ma9028344