Journal of Statistical Physics, Vol. 110, Nos. 3–6, March 2003. p. 835-860.
We consider a simple extension of the familiar Debye-Huckel theory of electrolyte solutions (in which the ions are represented by spheres with embedded point charges) to study the thermodynamic properties and the phase diagram of ionic solutions in which the ions of at least one of the species are deformed into parallel and rigid needle-like ellipsoidal objects that have a continuous line of charge distribution along their axis of revolution. We examine two specific cases: (a) solutions comprising both cationic and anionic needles that are identical in every respect except for the charge sign, and (b) solutions in which only one ionic species is made up of parallel rigid needles while the other species is made up of point ions. The first system is the analog, for ionic needles, of the familiar restricted primitive model of electrolytes, while the second one is a very simple model for a polyelectrolyte solution. For both systems we investigate how the phase diagram is affected by the extent of deformation of the ions, as measured by the spatial spread of their charge distribution.