PROPERTIES OF AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS OF POLYELECTROLYTES AND SURFACTANTS OF OPPOSITE CHARGES: SURFACE TENSION, SURFACE RHEOLOGY AND ELECTRIC BIREFRINGENCE STUDIES.

H. RITACCO; D. KURLAT; D. LANGEVIN

JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISCTRY B.

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

Año: 2003 vol. 107 p. 9146 - 9158

We describe the dynamic behavior of both surface and bulk of mixed aqueous solutions of surfactants and polymers of opposite electrical charges. We evidence the importance of the point of equivalence of charges (EP), which occurs well before precipitation in our systems. Close to EP, an adsorption barrier, possibly due to charge reversal, starts to build up at the surface. In the bulk, the surfactant not only screens the polymer charges but is likely to start binding to the polymer chains.