The Progresses on Polyelectrolytes and Polyelectrolyte Complexes

Dear Colleagues,

Polyelectrolytes are ubiquitous in many technological applications as well as in biological systems. Despite their importance, however, many of their properties are poorly understood. Our lack of understanding is largely due to the charge of the polyelectrolyte, which causes long-ranging electrostatic interactions and thus considerably complicates the development of more accurate models and theories. Moreover, the presence of other components as well as the influence of external fields leads to a multitude of interesting effects and complex mechanisms that massively influence the dynamics and the structure of polyelectrolytes. Important examples here are, in particular, the formation of polyelectrolyte complexes, the dissociation properties of weak polyelectrolytes, the distribution of mobile ions in the solution, the occurrence of specific ion effects and the influence of counterions on the polyelectrolyte dynamics. This Special Issue of Molecules is intended to provide an up-to-date overview of new results and the current state of knowledge in polyelectrolyte research. The corresponding experimental, theoretical, and numerical research results can cover a broad range of topics from applications of polyelectrolytes in electrochemical energy storage systems to studies of DNA structures.

Dr. Jens Smiatek
Guest Editor

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