Morin, Frances
(2019)
Testing the Sticky Rouse Model for Polyelectrolyte Complex Coacervates.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Polyelectrolyte complexes are entropically driven associations of charged macromolecules in aqueous salt solution. These polyelectrolyte complexes can undergo liquid-liquid phase separation into a polymer poor supernatant and a polymer rich coacervate, which possess practical viscoelastic properties that make them valuable for product design. With a unique salt-addition methodology, we are able to independently investigate the impact of salt concentration and polymer volume fraction on the viscoelastic properties of these materials. This allows us to independently determine the dependence of relaxation times on both variables with no approximations expanding our understanding of these dynamic materials. We find the relaxation times scales as the polymer concentration to the power of 5.82±0.54 and salt concentration to the power of 1.79±0.24. These values suggest that the current literature underestimates the impact of the polymer volume fraction on the viscoelastic response of polyelectrolyte complex coacervates. Furthermore, the charge density of these materials was probed with a carefully synthesized weak polyelectrolyte system in order to investigate the cooperativity of charge sites. Preliminary results suggest that this area of study will provide a deeper understanding of the driving forces behind these dynamics.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
26 September 2019 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
2 August 2019 |
| Approval Date: |
26 September 2019 |
| Submission Date: |
8 August 2019 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
49 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Chemistry |
| Degree: |
MS - Master of Science |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Polyelectrolyte complexes, coacervates, polymer |
| Date Deposited: |
26 Sep 2019 14:28 |
| Last Modified: |
26 Sep 2019 14:28 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/37335 |
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