Self-Aggregation of Mixtures of Oppositely Charged Polyelectrolytes and Surfactants Studied by Rheology, Dynamic Light Scattering and Small-Angle Neutron Scattering

In this study, the phase behavior, structure and properties of systems composed of the cationic, cellulose-based polycation JR 400 and the anionic surfactants sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) or sodium dodecylethoxysulfate (SDES), mainly in the semidilute regime, were examined. This system shows the interesting feature of a very large viscosity increase by nearly 4 orders of magnitude as compared to the pure polymer solution already at very low concentrations of 1 wt %. By using rheology, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and small-angle neutron;scattering (SANS), we are able to deduce systematic correlations between the molecular composition of the systems (characterized by the charge ratio Z = [+ (polymer)]/[-(surfactant)]), their structural organization and the resulting macroscopic flow behavior. Mixtures in the semidilute regime with an excess of polycation charge form highly viscous network structures containing rodlike aggregates composed of surfactant and polyelectrolyte that are interconnected by the long JR 400 chains. Viscosity and storage modulus follow scaling laws as a function of surfactant concentration (eta similar to c(s)(j)(4) G0 similar to c(s)(1.5)) and the very pronounced viscosity increase mainly arises, from the strongly enhanced structural relaxation time of the systems. In contrast, mixtures with excess surfactant charges form; solutions with viscosities even below those of the pure polymer solution. The combination of SANS, DLS, and rheology shows that the structural, dynamical, and rheological properties of these oppositely charged polyelectrolyte/surfactant systems can be controlled in a systematic fashion by appropriately choosing the systems composition.