Effect of salt on the equilibrium and nonequilibrium features of polyelectrolyte/surfactant association.

The impact of an electrolyte on aqueous mixtures of oppositely charged macromolecules and surfactants is usually explained by assuming an equilibrium association between the components. In this work, it is shown that the nonequilibrium character of polyelectrolyte/surfactant systems plays a crucial role in the interpretation of the effect of salt. Experimental investigations of mixtures of sodium poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS) and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) reveal two distinct effects of added sodium chloride (NaCl). At small and moderate NaCl concentrations, the major impact of the electrolyte is manifested in the reduction of the kinetically stable composition range in which the PSS/CTAB mixtures are trapped in the nonequilibrium colloidal dispersion state. The application of high salt concentrations, however, primarily affects the equilibrium phase properties through considerably decreasing the amount of surfactant bound to the polyelectrolyte.