Polymer, Vol.42, No.13, 5921-5923, 2001
Theory of viscoelastic properties of polyelectrolyte solutions
A theory of frequency dependence of shear viscosity eta and modulus C of polyelectrolyte solutions is presented as functions of concentrations of the polymer (c) and added salt. In the asymptotic limit of high frequency omega, eta is proportional to c omega (-2/3) in dilute solutions and to c(3/4) omega (-1/2) in semidilute solutions under salt-free conditions. As in the zero-frequency limit, reduced viscosity eta and reduced modulus G are decreasing functions of c in salt-free semidilute solutions at high frequencies: eta (r) similar to c(-1/4) omega (-1/2), G(r) similar to c(-1/4) omega (1/2) high, eta similar to c omega (-4/9) in dilute solutions and eta similar to C-9/8 omega (-1/2) in semidilute solutions, as expected for neutral good solutions.