Global research on polyelectrolytes at a fundamental and applied level is intensifying because the advantages of sustainability are being accepted in academia and industrial research settings. During recent decades, polyelectrolytes became one of the most attractive subjects of scientific research owing to their great potential in the areas of advanced technologies. Polyelectrolytes are a type of polymer that have multitudinous ionizable functional groups. Ionized polyelectrolytes in solution can form a complex with oppositely charged polyelectrolytes — a polyelectrolyte complex (PEC). The present article provides a comprehensive review on PECs and their classification, theory and characterization, as well as a critical analysis of the current research.

在基础和应用层面上，全球对聚电解质的研究正在加强，因为可持续性的优势已在学术界和工业研究环境中被接受。在最近的几十年中，聚电解质由于其在先进技术领域的巨大潜力而​​成为科学研究中最有吸引力的主题之一。聚电解质是一种具有大量可电离官能团的聚合物。溶液中的离子化聚电解质可与带相反电荷的聚电解质形成复合物-聚电解质复合物（PEC）。本文对PEC及其分类，理论和特性进行了全面的综述，并对当前研究进行了批判性分析。