Rheology of dilute polyelectrolyte solutions in narrow channels

The shear flow of dilute polyelectrolyte solutions bounded by either neutral or repulsive walls is modeled using a nonlinear dumbbell with conformation-dependent friction. Assuming that the configurational probability density function depends on the internal coordinates (r) and the distance of the center of mass of the molecule to the walls, coupled differential equations for the tensor moments <rr> are obtained. Coulombic repulsion between beads is considered to simulate the charge repulsion between ionized sites distributed along the backbone of a real polyelectrolyte. The repulsive interaction between the polyelectrolyte molecule and the charged walls is that of the DLVO model and the molecule is considered to be a charged sphere. Numerical solutions for the components of the tensor <rr> are worked out with the preaverage approach, and only when neutral walls considered are exact solutions obtained. Viscosity results show that in the limit of very wide channels, the corresponding viscosity in the bulk is obtained. The wall repulsion on the charged molecules produces migration of molecules towards the center of the channel resulting in a depleted layer with lower viscosity next to the walls. The calculated slip phenomenon using the method employed by Grisafi and Brunn is dependent on the beads repulsion and the shear rate. The slip velocity obtained with the Mooney method shows similarities with available experimental results for polyelectrolyte solutions. Birefringence calculations are performed in narrow and wide channels for different bead repulsions, with interesting results for both flexible and rigid molecules.