Polyelectrolyte http://www.belgeler.com/blg/mgm/factors-affecting-polyelectrolyte-complex-formation-inaqueous-solutions-of-sodium-alginate-chitosan-sodyum-aljinat-kitosan-sulu-cozeltilerindepolielektrolit-kompleks-olusumunu-etkileyen-faktorler# 1. Introduction Polyelectrolyte(PE) are polymers whose repeating units bear an electrolyte group.

These groups dissociate in aqueous solutions and make the polymer charged. Polyelectrolyte pproperties are thus similar to both simple electrolyted and polymers. Like simple electrolytes their solutions are electrically conductive and like polymers they are often viscous. Many naturally occurring and synthetically prepared polymers are polyelectrolyte, such as proteins, DNA algibates, etc PEs can be divided into two groups as trong and weak. A strong PE is one which dissociates completely in solution for most reasonable pH values. A weak PE, by contrast, has a dissociation constanr (pKa or pKb) in the rang of ~2 to ~ 10, meaning that it will be partially dissociated at intermediatepH values. Thus, their charge is pH dependent as is their physical properties. Since the polyelectrolyte dissociation releases counter ions, this necessarily affect the solutions ionic strength and, in turn, other solution properties such as electrical conductivity. The conformation of anypolymer is affected by many factors: notably the polymer architecture and solvent affinity. In the case of a PE, the conformation is also affected by the charge dendity.whereas an uncharges on a linear PE chain repel each other, which causes the chain to adopt a more expanded,rigid-rod like conformation. If the solution contains a great deal of added salt, the charges will be screened and consequently the PE will collapse to a more conventional conformation,essentially identical to a neutral chain in a good solvent. PE have many applications. Mostly related to modifying flow and stability properties of aqueous solutions and gels. For instance, they can be used to either stabilize colloidal suspensions, or initiate flocculation. They can also be used to impart asurface charge to neutral particles, enabling them to be dispersed in aqueous solution. They are thus often used as thickners, emuldifiers, ,conditioners and flocculants. They are used in water treatment and for oil recovery. Manu soaps, shampoos and cosmetics incorporate PEs. Polyelectrolyte complexes are formed when two oppsitely charged PEs are mixed due to the Coulombic interactions. When the PEs used are strong ones, it is reported that they have a 1:1 stoichiometry. However, when weak PEs are used there observed some deviations from

1:1 stoichiometry. They can also be formed via secondary interactions such as hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactios,etc.PEs complexes can be qater soluble or insoluble. The formation of PECs is governed by the characteristics of the individual PE components( ex; properties of ionic sites,strong weak electrolyte,position of ionic sites, charge density, rigidity of the macromolecular chains) and the chemical environment ( eg: solvent,ionic strength, pH and temperature). the properties of the PEC are mainly determined by the degree of interaction between the polymers. This depends essentially on their global charge desities and determines their relative proportion in the PEC. The most impotant factor that has to be controlled is the pH of the solution, but temperation, ionic strength, and the order of mixing are also impotant. In addition, there are secondary factoes, related to the components that have to be considered, such as flexibility of polymers, molecular weight and degree of deacetylation of chitosan.