All Publications

  • Electrostatic correlation free energy for finite polymer chains. Soft matter Horne, J., Qin, J. 2025

    Abstract

    Electrostatic correlation free energy (ECF) is the basis for modeling the thermodynamic behavior of polyelectrolyte solutions. In the past, it has mainly been estimated using the Edwards approximation, valid for infinite chains. Here, we show that the leading contribution due to finite molecular size is of order N-1, regardless of the fractal dimension d, where N is proportional to molecular weight. This contribution is a local effect, originating from the missing correlations among connected charges near chain ends. In contrast, the contribution from the long-wavelength or infrared regime is weaker, of order N-3/d ln N. Closed-form expressions for the free energy are provided for polyelectrolytes exhibiting either coil- or rod-like statistics, in the absence or presence of small ions. The consequence of the end effect is demonstrated by evaluating the phase diagram, surface tension, and molecular weight-driven partitioning.

    View details for DOI 10.1039/d5sm00633c

    View details for PubMedID 40888180

  • Molecular Weight-Driven Partitioning of Polyelectrolytes During Complexation MACROMOLECULES Barker, K. P., Horne, J., Lou, J., Xia, Y., Qin, J. 2025

    View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.macromol.5c00421

    View details for Web of Science ID 001503206900001

https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5991-742X