VISCOSITY OF WEAKLY CHARGED POLYELECTROLYTE SOLUTIONS - THE SCREENINGOF HYDRODYNAMIC INTERACTIONS

The mode-mode coupling approximation (MMCA) is used to describe the be havior of the reduced viscosity of weakly charged polyelectrolyte solu tions in the presence of screening of hydrodynamic interactions. This effect is introduced through a dynamic correlation length xi(H) in the Oseen tenser description. The results show that as xi(H) goes from ze ro (Rouse model) to infinity (Zimm model), the general qualitative beh avior of eta(r) as function of the polyelectrolyte concentration C-p d oes not change but its value decreases significantly with a slight shi ft in the peak position toward higher C-p values.