Characterization of PAMPS/PDADMAC Polyelectrolyte Complexes in Aqueous Media: Effect of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Parameters
摘要
Polyelectrolyte complexes are formed by mixing oppositely charged polyelectrolytes in aqueous solutions and generally giving rise to insoluble complexes that can be solid in case of strongly interacting system or liquid i.e. coacervates, in case of weak interacting system. In this study, we show that complex coacervation can occur between strong polyelectrolytes; namely the anionic copolymer of acrylamide and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sodium sulfonate and the cationic poly (diallyl dimethylammonium chloride). Aqueous dispersions of polyelectrolyte complexes were characterized at the macroscopic and colloidal scale, by several techniques such as optical microscopy, turbidity, viscometry and conductivity, in order to investigate the effect of several intrinsic and extrinsic parameters on complex coacervation. It was particularly emphasized that this system undergoes a liquid-liquid transition, regardless of the molar charge ratio Z = [+]/[-] and the electrostatic charge of the polyanion, even though it involves complexation between strong polyelectrolytes in salt free aqueous media.