Interactions between poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) and poly(acrylic acid) in dependence on polymer concentration

Summary The phase diagram of the ternary system,i.e. poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride), poly(acrylic acid, sodium salt), and water was investigated by varying the molecular weight of the components. In general, a range of phase separation is surrounded by a one-phase system. The range of phase separation can be subdivided into a region of flocculation and/or coacervation in contrast to stable symplex dispersions. By increasing the molecular weight of the components the range of phase separation is increased and phenomena of flocculation followed by coacervation were observed predominantly. Above a molecular weight of 10 000 g/mol the transition to concentrated macroscopic homogeneous one-phase systems was observed at a constant ionic strength of 2 mol/l coinciding with the ?critical ionic strength? for Coulombic interactions in this system. That means the transition to concentrated one-phase systems can be understood by the disappearance of Coulombic forces above a system-specific ionic strength resulting in a quite additive behaviour of the mixtures with regard to the components. Paper presented at the I International Conference on Scaling Concepts and Complex Fluids, Copanello, Italy, July 4–8, 1994.