Polyelectrolyte molecule conformation near a charged surface

(Received 6 November 1993, received in final form 3 January 1994, accepted 16 March 1994)

Abstract
The scaling theory of conformation of a weakly charged polyelectrolyte molecule attached onto a charged surface is developed. It is shown that the long-range interaction between charged monomer units and similary (or oppositely) charged surface provides many more qualitatively different regimes of behaviour of polyelectrolyte molecule than short-range repulsion (or attraction) in the case of uncharged polymers near repulsive (or adsorbing) surface. The scaling indices describing orientation and stretching of grafted polyion near similarly charged surface as well as the adsorption of macromolecule due to long-range electrostatic attraction to the oppositely charged surface are obtained.