Self-organization in ion-containing polymer systems

A review is presented of theoretical and experimental studies on self-organization processes in ion-containing polymers (polyelectrolytes and ionomers). The high probability of various types of regular nanostructures in such systems is due to the effective competition between different interaction types, particularly the long-range Coulomb forces and hydrophobic interactions. The following self-organization phenomena in charged molecular systems are considered at some length: microphase separation in weakly charged polyelectrolyte solutions and gels in poor solvents; ordering in complexes of polyelectrolyte gels with oppositely charged surfactants; and formation of multiplet structures in ionomer systems.