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Updated: May 5, 2026

AC Electrokinetic Phenomena Generated by Microelectrode Structures
Published on: July 29, 2008
Periodic swelling and collapse of polyelectrolyte brushes driven by chemical oscillation
Guangming Liu1, Guangzhao Zhang
1Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Abstract:
Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) chains exhibit conformational change in response to pH, whereas bromate-sulfite-ferrocyanide (BSF) solution shows pH oscillation between 3.2 and 6.6. By use of quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), we have investigated the pH induced conformational change of PAA brushes under a continuous flow of BSF solution in real time. The changes in frequency and dissipation clearly indicate the periodic swelling and collapse of brushes with pH oscillation. The changes in thickness, viscosity, and elastic modulus further indicate the oscillation of the interface.
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