A simple approximation for the distribution of ions between charged plates in the weak coupling regime

Abstract

The solution of the Poisson--Boltzmann equation for counterions confined between two charged plates is known analytically up to a constant, namely, the ion density in the middle of the channel. This quantity is relevant also because it gives access, through the contact theorem, to the osmotic pressure of the system. Here we compare the values of the ion density obtained by numerical and simulation approaches, and report a useful analytic approximation for the weak coupling regime in the absence of added salt, which predicts the value of the ion density in the worst case within 5%. The inclusion of higher order terms in a Laurent expansion can further improve the accuracy, at the expense of simplicity.