Polyelectrolyte brush at thermal equilibrium: A density functional theory approach

The long standing problem of Polyelectrolyte brushes at thermal equilibrium is approached here by using density functional theory (DFT) framework. The results confirms that by increasing the Bjerrum length of the medium, the counterions get absorbed by the brush monomers the effect that is known as Manning condensation. Additionally, it turns out that by increasing the Bjerrum Length, the monomers get depleted from the surface but the counterions get accumulated around the surface. These two effects could have potential technological applications in biotechnology etc and shows that how Polyelectrolyte brushes respond to the variation of the Bjerrum length as a key parameter in charged systems.