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The correlation functions of bulk symmetric electrolytes in the restricted primitive model are analyzed using the formalism of the dressed ion theory of Kjellander and Mitchell [Chem. Phys. Lett. 200, 76 (1992), J. Chem. Phys. 101, 603 (1994)]. An important result of this analysis is that the exact theory for the pair correlation functions can be cast in a form that is virtually identical to that of the Debye–Hückel theory provided one uses the renormalized charges of the ions—‘‘dressed ions’’—instead of bare ion charges. In the current work the (state dependent) charges of these dressed ions are investigated using the HNC approximation. The asymptotic decay of the pair correlation functions are analyzed in terms of the effective point charges of the ions and the effective permittivity of the electrolyte solution, concepts which are given rigorous and physically transparent definitions in the dressed ion theory. Several transitions between regimes with different qualitative behavior of the pair correlation functions are demonstrated, in addition to the well-known transition between monotonic and oscillatory damped decay. By means of an analysis of the singularities of the correlation functions in complex Fourier space, dressed ion theory provides a general method to determine these transitions from numerical pair correlation data and in this paper results are given for symmetric electrolytes with monovalent and divalent ions.

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We describe the escape transition of an ideal chain compressed between finite-sized obstacles. Three different theoretical methods are used and each provides a similar description of the escape transition, as predicted by earlier and less detailed mean-field theories. The first two methods show that thermal fluctuations near the transition can blur what was previously described as a sharp transition. The last method is an exact calculation of the partition function that shows unambiguously the character of the escape transition. This exact calculation overcomes the inherent uncertainties associated with previous theory and computer simulation.

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The surface forces between quaternarized poly(2-vinylpyridine) (QP2VP) layers adsorbed onto mica have been measured over a range of solution pH conditions. It was found that QP2VP overcompensates the mica's negative charge, resulting in a positively charged interface. The surface potential at the mica/polyelectrolyte interface is a balance of the charge on the adsorbed polyelectrolyte and the charge on the underlying mica surface. It was also found that, below and near the pK a of the polyelectrolyte, segment-segment repulsion results in the polyelectrolyte adopting a conformation with significant extension into solution. Interpenetration of the extended chains leads to a bridging attraction. At high pH a decrease in the polyelectrolyte charge density decreases segment-segment repulsion, resulting in a compact adsorbed conformation where no bridging attractive jump is observed. An adhesion is measured between adjacent layers under all pH conditions, regardless of the presence of an attractive jump in. Here the important distinction is made between an attractive force caused by the overlap of anchored polyelectrolyte chains extending into solution and chain entanglement that occurs due to molecular rearrangements when polyelectrolyte layers are under compression.