Comment on “Formation of polyelectrolyte multilayers: ionic strengths and growth regimes” by K. Tang and A. M. Besseling, Soft Matter, 2016, 12, 1032

Abstract

Tang and Besseling recently published a study on the growth of polyelectrolyte multilayers formed by poly(diallyl-dimethylammonium chloride), PDADMAC, and the sodium salt of poly(4-styrenesulfonate), PSSNa. They described the different growth regimes appearing in the (PDADMAC + PSS)_n multilayers within a scenario in which the appearance of interdiffusion of the polyelectrolyte chains within the multilayer architecture plays a central role in the transition between the different regimes. However, this account contrasts, without an apparent explanation, with previous experimental evidence reported in the literature.