(531h) Rheology of Polyelectrolyte Solutions: From Salt Effects to Applications

Polyelectrolytes are ubiquitous charged macromolecules and are often dispersed in aqueous media. Being charged, the addition of salts/electrolytes changes the microstructure of the suspended polymers as a function of the salt concentration, which in turns affects the mechanical properties of the solution. Despite advances in theory, simulations and many experimental measurements, it us unknown how the mechanical properties of these macromolecules are affected by different type of salts at the same concentration.

Here we show that different kind of salts at a fixed concentration can be used to tune shear viscoelastic properties of the solution in a broad range of relaxation times. These results provide insights for enhanced oil recovery and turbulent drag reduction applications, where polyelectrolytes are present and their rheology plays a key-role. In addition, we report a printing application where polyelectrolyte solutions are used as a model non-Newtonian fluid to investigate the role of extensional rheology in printed patterns.