Polyelectrolyte solutions Donnan contribution

Our considerations qualitatively explain the results of Fig. 3.16 The dissolution of salt in addition to the polyelectrolyte suppresses the osmotic pressure contribution by the counter-ions and transforms the stiffened polyelectrol3de chain into a much more flexible quasi-neutral chain. In the absence of these polyelectrolyte characteristics, one recovers the behavior of neutral systems and, therefore, in the semidilute range the associated scaling law Eq. (3.41). Equation (3.136) correctly describes the general tendencies, but is not an accurate expression. First, in view of the complex structures in polyelectrolytes with shell formations and screening effects, equilibria have to be expressed in terms of activities rather than concentrations. Furthermore, the Donnan expression is not the only contribution to the second virial coefficient. There exists another part, AA2, which accounts as usually for excluded volume effects, the quality of the solvent and the peculiar ordering phenomena found in polyelectrolyte solutions. Therefore, in general, one has to write... 

Due to the presence of interactions, the apparent redox potential of a redox couple inside a polyelectrolyte film can differ from that of the isolated redox couple in solution (i.e. the standard formal redox potential) [121]. In other words, the free energy required to oxidize a mole of redox sites in the film differs from that needed in solution. One particular case is when these interations have an origin in the presence of immobile electrostatically charged groups in the polymer phase. Under such conditions, there is a potential difference between this phase and the solution (reference electrode in the electrolyte), knovm as the Donnan or membrane potential that contributes to the apparent potential of the redox couple. The presence of the Donnan potential in redox polyelectrolyte systems was demonstrated for the first time by Anson [24, 122]. Considering only this contribution to peak position, we can vwite ... 

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