POS10-1279
Competing Local and Network-Scale Associations in Salt-Screened Coacervate Adhesives
Topic
S10. AI-assisted Design and Simulation of Polymers
When and Where
Sep 30, 2026
08:30 - 09:30
Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)
Session Chairs
Heesuk KIM
Jinhye BAE
Presenter(s)
Raehyun Jung (DGIST(Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology))
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Cohesion in charged associative polymers originates from interactions of disparate strength and salt sensitivity. Charge pairing dominates at low ionic strength but is progressively screened upon salt addition, whereas aromatic contacts are individually weaker yet persist under screening.
Surface force apparatus (SFA) measurements on PAGE-based ammonium–sulfonate complex coacervates reveal a non-monotonic dependence of interfacial cohesion on backbone length, with cohesion diminishing upon initial shortening and recovering at the shortest lengths. We therefore constructed a coarse-grained representation of associative polymer melts, in which electrostatic screening is presumed and non-electrostatic sticker attraction constitutes the controlling interaction, addressing the high-salt regime.
By enumerating attractive contacts by pair type and characterizing the interchain networks, we trace the non-monotonic cohesion to a competition between local association and network-scale connectivity, which respond to backbone length in opposition. We present how this competition shapes interfacial cohesion and how backbone length may serve as a route to tuning adhesion under high-salt conditions.
Surface force apparatus (SFA) measurements on PAGE-based ammonium–sulfonate complex coacervates reveal a non-monotonic dependence of interfacial cohesion on backbone length, with cohesion diminishing upon initial shortening and recovering at the shortest lengths. We therefore constructed a coarse-grained representation of associative polymer melts, in which electrostatic screening is presumed and non-electrostatic sticker attraction constitutes the controlling interaction, addressing the high-salt regime.
By enumerating attractive contacts by pair type and characterizing the interchain networks, we trace the non-monotonic cohesion to a competition between local association and network-scale connectivity, which respond to backbone length in opposition. We present how this competition shapes interfacial cohesion and how backbone length may serve as a route to tuning adhesion under high-salt conditions.
