Hydrophobicities in the domains of polyelectrolytes

The interactions of integral‐or pendant‐type polycations with sodium‐1‐anilino‐8‐naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) were studied by means of their fluorescent spectra. The emission maxima shift to the lower wavelength and fluorescent intensities increase greatly as a result of such complexations. This result may be attributed to the electrostatic interaction and the specific nonpolar environment around the bound ANS. The hydrophobic property in the domain formed by a polycation chain depends on the increase of methylene groups or the existence of a xylylene group between two adjacent cationic sites on the main chain, the existence of benzyl groups on the side chains, and the increase of their molecular weights. It is shown that the hydrophobicities in the domains of polyelectrolytes also change with their conformational changes, i.e., the more contracted their conformations are, the stronger their hydrophobicities are.