(597c) Non-Mean-Field Electrostatic Correlations in Polyelectrolyte Brushes

The properties of polyelectrolyte brushes depend on a broad range of parameters including the characteristics of the polyions, salt concentration, ion valence, and solvent conditions. In this talk, we will present a non-mean-field theory for polyelectrolyte brushes and discuss the effects of salt concentration, polymer grafting density, and chain length on the polyion configurations, the electrostatic potential, and the distributions of both counterions and coions. Special attention will be given to systems containing multivalent counterions wherein the electrostatic interactions and coupled excluded volume effects defy typical mean-field calculations and scaling analysis. Comparison will be attempted with pertinent experimental results and with established theoretical predictions for monovalent systems.