Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 化學工程學研究所 === 104 === Extending previous analyses on rigid particles to non-rigid ones, we model the diffusiophoresis of a polyelectrolyte (PE) in a solution. Two types of problem are considered in this thesis. In the first problem, the effects of temperature, pH, type of ionic species and bulk concentration are taken into account, and therefore, the conditions considered are more comprehensive and closer to reality than those of the available results in the literature. We show that temperature and pH influence appreciably the charged conditions of a PE, the ionic diffusivities, and the fluid viscosity, yielding complicated and interesting behaviors that are informative to device design. In the second problem, we model the diffusiophoresis of an isolated toroidal polyelectrolyte (PE) for the first time. Choosing an aqueous KCl solution for illustration, its behavior under various conditions is simulated by varying the double layer thickness, the size of toroid, and its softness and fixed charge density. We show that the behavior of the present PE can be different both quantitatively and qualitatively from that of the corresponding spherical PE. This arises from the competition of the hydrodynamic force and the electric force acting on a PE. The geometry and the nature of a PE can also influence appreciably its behavior, yielding complicated and interesting results.
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