Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer01:35

Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer

Biological membranes show uneven distribution of different types of lipids in the inner and outer layers, resulting in transverse asymmetric membranes. The treatment of the erythrocyte membrane with the enzyme phospholipase confirmed the asymmetric nature of the lipid bilayer. The enzyme hydrolyzes lipids into fatty acids and hydrophilic groups. The phospholipase acts only on the outer layer of the membrane, while the inner layer remains intact. The phospholipase treatment resulted in 80%...
Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview01:20

Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview

The polymerization process that involves carbanion as an intermediate is called anionic polymerization. It is also a type of addition or chain-growth polymerization. Anionic polymerization gets initiated by a strong nucleophile such as an organolithium or a Grignard reagent. The most commonly used initiator for anionic polymerization is butyl lithium. Monomers involved in anionic polymerization must possess a vinyl group bonded to one or two electron-withdrawing groups. For instance,...
Molecular Weight of Step-Growth Polymers01:08

Molecular Weight of Step-Growth Polymers

Step growth polymerization involves bi or multifunctional monomers. Bifunctional monomers react to form linear step growth polymers, whereas multifunctional monomers react to form non-linear or branched polymers.
As the step-growth polymerization involves step-wise condensation of monomers, the molecular weight also builds up eventually. Consequently, high molecular weight polymers are obtained at the late stages of the polymerization, where 99% of monomers have been consumed.
The extent of the...
Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters01:20

Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters

The introduction of polyesters has brought major development to the textile industry. The wrinkle-free behavior of polyester blends has eliminated the need for starching and ironing clothes.
Polyesters are commonly prepared from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; the crude product is known as poly(ethylene terephthalate) or PET. However, polyesters are synthesized industrially by transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol at 150 °C. The two reactants and the polymer...
Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview01:03

Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview

Step-growth or condensation polymerization is a stepwise reaction of bi or multifunctional monomers to form long-chain polymers. As all the monomers are reactive, most of the monomers are consumed at the early stages of the reaction to form small chains of reactive oligomers, which then combine to form long polymer chains in the late stages. Hence, the reaction has to proceed for a long time to achieve high molecular weight polymers.
Many natural and synthetic polymers are produced by...
Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism01:04

Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism

The mechanism for anionic chain-growth polymerization involves initiation, propagation, and termination steps. In the initiation step, a nucleophilic anion, such as butyl lithium, initiates the polymerization process by attacking the π bond of the vinylic monomer. As a result, a carbanion, stabilized by the electron‐withdrawing group, is generated. The resulting carbanion acts as a Michael donor in the propagation step and attacks the second vinylic monomer, which acts as a Michael acceptor.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Adhesive Polyelectrolyte Complex Coacervates with Structural Antibiotics.

Biomacromolecules·2026
Same author

Quantifying Hydrophilicity in Polyelectrolytes and Polyzwitterions.

Macromolecules·2025
Same author

Dynamics of Globular Proteins when Interacting with Zwitterionic Silica Nanoparticles by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spin Relaxation.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2025
Same author

Unifying the temperature dependent dynamics of glass formers.

The Journal of chemical physics·2024
Same author

Relative Strength of Polycation Adsorption on Oxide Surfaces.

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2024
Same author

Inorganic Nanoparticles Embedded in Polydimethylsiloxane Nanodroplets.

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2023
Same journal

Radical Cascades on Seawater Microdroplets Drive Atmospheric Mercury Oxidation.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026
Same journal

Superior Selective and Fast NH<sub>3</sub> Adsorption of Soft Porous MOF/Ionic Liquid Composites with Ordering Phase Transitions.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026
Same journal

Systematic Catalyst Variation for Improved Stereoselective Epoxide Polymerization: Subtle Modifications Resulting in Superior Efficiency.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026
Same journal

Deciphering the Halide Chemistry of Cl<sup>-</sup> and Br<sup>-</sup> in Enhancing Kinetics of Mg Plating/Stripping.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026
Same journal

Electrosynthesis of C<sub>6</sub> Chemicals by Propylene Oxidative Coupling on Au Surface.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026
Same journal

Statistical AI Enables Precise Screening of Multielement Catalysts.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

Density Gradient Multilayered Polymerization (DGMP): A Novel Technique for Creating Multi-compartment, Customizable Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering
12:54

Density Gradient Multilayered Polymerization (DGMP): A Novel Technique for Creating Multi-compartment, Customizable Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

Published on: February 12, 2013

Asymmetric growth in polyelectrolyte multilayers.

Ramy A Ghostine1, Marie Z Markarian, Joseph B Schlenoff

  • 1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4390, USA.

Journal of the American Chemical Society
|May 16, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers found that the common model of charge overcompensation in polyelectrolyte multilayers is incorrect. The study reveals asymmetric growth and complex formation in poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) and poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) films.

More Related Videos

Fabrication of Large-area Free-standing Ultrathin Polymer Films
10:08

Fabrication of Large-area Free-standing Ultrathin Polymer Films

Published on: June 3, 2015

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
10:43

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes

Published on: July 19, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 11, 2026

Density Gradient Multilayered Polymerization (DGMP): A Novel Technique for Creating Multi-compartment, Customizable Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering
12:54

Density Gradient Multilayered Polymerization (DGMP): A Novel Technique for Creating Multi-compartment, Customizable Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

Published on: February 12, 2013

Fabrication of Large-area Free-standing Ultrathin Polymer Films
10:08

Fabrication of Large-area Free-standing Ultrathin Polymer Films

Published on: June 3, 2015

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
10:43

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes

Published on: July 19, 2022

Area of Science:

  • Polymer Science
  • Materials Science
  • Surface Chemistry

Background:

  • Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) are widely used in various applications.
  • The assembly of PEMs is often described by a model of charge overcompensation.
  • The specific system studied involves poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) and poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the charge distribution and assembly mechanism within PDADMAC/PSS polyelectrolyte multilayers.
  • To challenge the conventional model of charge overcompensation in PEM formation.
  • To develop a new model explaining the observed growth and structure of PEMs.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized radioactive counterions to quantify the ratio of positive to negative polymer units.
  • Analyzed the charge distribution across the polyelectrolyte multilayer.
  • Developed a reaction-diffusion model to describe the observed asymmetric growth.

Main Results:

  • The accepted model of charge overcompensation for each layer was found to be incorrect.
  • Overcompensation occurs only upon addition of the polycation (PDADMAC); polyanion (PSS) merely compensates.
  • Asymmetric growth was observed, with excess positive charges accumulating after several layers, leading to distinct glassy and rubbery complex regions.

Conclusions:

  • The assembly of PDADMAC/PSS PEMs exhibits asymmetric growth and complex formation, deviating from simple charge overcompensation models.
  • A new reaction-diffusion model accurately describes the formation of distinct stoichiometric and charge-rich layers.
  • Understanding this asymmetric growth is crucial for predicting and controlling PEM properties.