Monte-Carlo simulations of star-branched polyelectrolyte micelles

M. Roger (1) , P. Guenoun (1) , F. Muller (1) , L. Belloni (2) , M. Delsanti (2)

1 SPEC - UMR3680 - Service de physique de l'état condensé
2 SCM - Service de Chimie Moléculaire

The concentration profiles of monomers and counterions in star-branched polyelectrolyte micelles are calculated through Monte Carlo simulations, using the freely jointed chain model. We have investigated the onset of different regimes corresponding to the spherical and Manning condensation of counterions as a function of the strength of the Coulomb coupling. The Monte Carlo results are in fair agreement with the predictions of Self-Consistent-Field analytical models. We have simulated a real system of diblock copolymer micelles of (sodium-polystyrene-sulfonate)(NaPSS)-(polyethylene-propylene)(PEP) with $f$ = 54 hydrophilic branches of $N$ = 251 monomers at room temperature in salt-free solution. The calculated form factor compares nicely with our neutron scattering data

Domaines: Matière Molle [cond-mat.soft]; Polymères

M. Roger, P. Guenoun, F. Muller, L. Belloni, M. Delsanti. Monte-Carlo simulations of star-branched polyelectrolyte micelles. European Physical Journal E: Soft matter and biological physics, 2002, 9 (4), pp.313-326. ⟨10.1140/epje/i2002-10086-0⟩. ⟨hal-00125543⟩