Intrinsic viscosity of polyelectrolyte solutions

The intrinsic viscosity of polyelectrolyte solutions has been measured using fully sulphonated sodium neutralized polystyrene without added salt. The intrinsic viscosity was observed to increase linearly with molecular weight and temperature. Relatively high intrinsic viscosities and Huggins coefficients were measured. It was found that a relatively small increase in temperature is sufficient to shift the maximum of the reduced viscosity to higher polyelectrolyte concentration¹⁰. This maximum is followed by a strong decline in η_sp/C(p) vs. C_p, which in turn is followed by a linear region. Due to the shift of the maximum to higher polymer concentrations the linear region can be measured with an accuracy comparable to that attained in measurements of uncharged polymers.