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Overcharging of a macroion by an oppositely charged polyelectrolyte

T. T. Nguyen·B. I. Shklovskii
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Abstract

The complexation of a polyelectrolyte with an oppositely charged spherical macroion is studied for both salt free and salty solutions. When a polyelectrolyte winds around the macroion, its turns repel each other and form an almost equidistant coil. It is shown that this repulsive correlations of turns lead to the charge inversion: more polyelectrolyte winds around the macroion than it is necessary to neutralize it. The charge inversion becomes stronger with increasing concentration of salt and can exceed 100%. This paper confirms that correlations are the universal mechanism of charge inversion.

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T. T. Nguyen, B. I. Shklovskii. 2000-11-09. Overcharging of a macroion by an oppositely charged polyelectrolyte. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-4371(01)00020-6

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