ABSTRACT
The structure and electrical properties of the polyelectrolyte multilayers are crucial for all the envisaged applications. The problem about incorporation and mobility of small ions into the film bulk is examined in a study on dielectric properties of polyelectrolyte multilayers by M. F. Durstock and M. F. Rubner. The frequency of the dielectric relaxation in both the investigations is assumed to depend on the size of microdomains that might exist in the film and on the mobility of the small ions in the film bulk. The electrical properties of polyelectrolyte multilayers are described in the second part, focusing on mobility of the polyelectrolyte counterions at low ionic conditions. All the experiments with films on colloidal particles showed a linear increase in the film thickness from the beginning of the multilayer buildup. The complexation between a polyelectrolyte and a charged colloidal particle of opposite sign is of interest, owing to its importance for various biological and commercial applications.
