Electric Birefringence of Aqueous Solutions of a Rigid Polyelectrolyte. Polarization Mechanisms and Anomalous Birefringence Signals

We present an electric birefringence study of aqueous solutions of an intrinsically rigid polyelectrolyte, xanthan, and of mixed solutions with an oppositely charged surfactant, DTAB. The stationary electric birefringence as well as built-up and decay processes give information on the polarization m...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ritacco, Hernán Alejandro, Fernández Leyes, Marcos Daniel, Dominguez, Claudia, Langevin, Dominique
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/62269
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/62269
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Polyelectrolytes
Surfactants
Soft Matter
Birefringence
Complex Systems
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.3
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:We present an electric birefringence study of aqueous solutions of an intrinsically rigid polyelectrolyte, xanthan, and of mixed solutions with an oppositely charged surfactant, DTAB. The stationary electric birefringence as well as built-up and decay processes give information on the polarization mechanisms of the polyelectrolyte and on the role played by counterions. By adding a cationic surfactant (DTAB), that replaces the small Na+ counterions of the polymer, we could obtain further insights into the role of condensed counterions in these mechanisms. In some cases, anomalous birefringence signals appear, revealing a new polarization mechanism likely due to field-induced interactions within polymer-surfactant aggregates.