Sequence Effects on the Salt-Enhancement Behavior of Polyelectrolytes Adsorption
Qiuhui Chang, Jian Jiang*.
Macromolecules, 2022, 55(3): 897-905.
Establishing the relationship between the sequence and the macroscopic properties of materials can be used to screen high-performance structurally precise polymers. Here, by comparing the calculation results of the density functional theory and the self-consistent field theory, the sequence effects on the salt-enhancing behavior of polyelectrolytes adsorbed on an oppositely charged surfaces is rationally discussed. Among tapered (T), reversely tapered (R), and alternating (A) sequence-defined PEs, the strength of the salt-enhancement effect of the R-sequence PEs is significantly elevated at a high surface charge density because the long middle neutral blocks can form loop conformations. Moreover, R-sequence PEs show the largest adsorption amounts and the strongest salt response of PE adsorptions. This study demonstrates that the adsorption properties of polyelectrolytes on an oppositely charged surfaces can be improved by sequence.
