Alladi Ramakrishnan Hall

Dynamics of Charged Gels

M. Muthukumar

University of Massachusetts, USA

When polymer networks bearing electrical charges are immersed in salty water, they swell and attain their equilibrated gel states. Such gels are ubiquitous in various biological systems and synthetic materials for human care. The topological correlations emerging from the structure of polymer network, the long range electrostatic forces, and the mixture of quenched and annealed degrees of freedom in the system present theoretical challenges. Nevertheless, a mean field theory will be presented making the connection between local concentration fluctuations and the macroscopic elasticity of charged gels. Validation of the theory with experiments, using dynamic light scattering and rheology, and new predictions will be presented.