Structure of Polyelectrolytes in Poor Solvent

TL;DR

This paper investigates the conformations of charged polymers in poor solvents through simulations, revealing fluctuations in pearl structures and distinct scaling behaviors compared to good solvents.

Contribution

It provides detailed simulation analysis of polyelectrolyte conformations in poor solvents, highlighting fluctuation effects and unique structural scaling properties.

Findings

Strong fluctuations in pearl number and size

Minimal signatures in form factor and force-extension

Different structure factor scaling from good solvents

Abstract

We present simulations on charged polymers in poor solvent. First we investigate in detail the dilute concentration range with and without imposed extension constraints. The resulting necklace polymer conformations are analyzed in detail. We find strong fluctuations in the number of pearls and their sizes leading only to small signatures in the form factor and the force-extension relation. The scaling of the peak in the structure factor with the monomer density shows a pertinent different behavior from good solvent chains.