Adsorption of a polyelectrolyte chain on a charged surface: a Monte Carlo simulation of scaling behaviour

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Abstract
We study the adsorption of a charged polymer chain (polyelectrolyte) grafted to an oppositely charged surface by means of an off-lattice Monte Carlo simulation. We consider the effects of chain ionization, surface charge density, and solution ionic strength on the conformational and interfacial properties of the model system. By varying the chain length of the polyelectrolyte over a broad range we determine the critical parameters for adsorption and find a very good agreement with recent scaling predictions for polyelectrolyte adsorption in the various regimes of chain ionization and salt content of the solution.