Do Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brushes Interdigitate?

Abstract

The structure of spherical micelles of the diblock copolymer poly(styrene-block-acrylic acid) in water was investigated with small angle neutron scattering and contrast matching. We have monitored intermicelle correlation and the extension of the polyelectrolyte chains in the coronal layer through the overlap concentration. Irrespective of ionic strength, the corona shrinks with increasing packing fraction. Furthermore, at high charge and minimal screening conditions, the corona layers interpenetrate once the volume fraction exceeds the critical value 0.53+/-0.02.