Conformational transitions of a weak polyampholyte
Küçük Resim Yok
Tarih
2014
Yazarlar
Dergi Başlığı
Dergi ISSN
Cilt Başlığı
Yayıncı
American Institute of Physics Inc.
Erişim Hakkı
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
Özet
Using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations of a flexible polyelectrolyte where the charges are in contact with a reservoir of constant chemical potential given by the solution pH, we study the behavior of weak polyelectrolytes in poor and good solvent conditions for polymer backbone. We address the titration behavior and conformational properties of a flexible diblock polyampholyte chain formed of two oppositely charged weak polyelectrolyte blocks, each containing equal number of identical monomers. The change of solution pH induces charge asymmetry in a diblock polyampholyte. For diblock polyampholyte chains in poor solvents, we demonstrate that a discontinuous transition between extended (tadpole) and collapsed (globular) conformational states is attainable by varying the solution pH. The double-minima structure in the probability distribution of the free energy provides direct evidence for the first-order like nature of this transition. At the isoelectric point electrostatically driven coil-globule transition of diblock polyampholytes in good solvents is found to consist of different regimes identified with increasing electrostatic interaction strength. At pH values above or below the isoelectric point diblock chains are found to have polyelectrolyte-like behavior due to repulsion between uncompensated charges along the chain. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.
Açıklama
Anahtar Kelimeler
Kaynak
Journal of Chemical Physics
WoS Q Değeri
Q1
Scopus Q Değeri
Q1
Cilt
141
Sayı
13
