Coarse-graining of ionic microgels: Theory and experiment

Author(s)
Jonas Riest, Priti Mohanty, Peter Schurtenberger, Christos Likos
Abstract

In this work, we discuss the statistical mechanics of many-body systems consisting of electrically charged microgels, and we show that their collective behavior is determined by an interplay between the screened electrostatic and the elastic contributions to their effective interaction potential. The former is derived by means of a statistical-mechanical approach due to Denton [A. R. Denton, Phys. Rev. E 67, 011804 (2003)], and it includes the screened electrostatic potential between penetrable spheres and the counterion entropic contribution. The latter is based on the Hertzian model of the theory of elasticity. Comparisons with experimental results demonstrate the realistic nature of the coarse-graining procedure, which makes it possible to put forward theoretical predictions on the phase diagram of ionic microgels and on the behavior of soft, neutral microgels under confinement in narrow pores.

Organisation(s)
Computational and Soft Matter Physics
External organisation(s)
Lund University
Journal
Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie / International Journal of Research in Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics
Volume
226
Pages
711-735
No. of pages
25
ISSN
0942-9352
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1524/zpch.2012.0258
Publication date
2012
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103023 Polymer physics, 103036 Theoretical physics, 103015 Condensed matter, 103029 Statistical physics
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/0fed4c34-10e8-4aaa-82a0-a289b27e2aff