Growth of a dense polymer brush layer from solution

The chemical grafting of alkanethiol-terminated poly(ethylene glycol) to a gold substrate from dimethylformamide solution was monitored by in situ ellipsometry for several molar concentrations. In the initial stage a layer of mushroom-like moieties forms and, on a much longer time scale, is followed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Europhysics letters 2003-11, Vol.64 (3), p.378-384
Main Authors: Himmelhaus, M, Bastuck, T, Tokumitsu, S, Grunze, M, Livadaru, L, Kreuzer, H. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
68.43.De
68.43.Mn
82.35.Gh
Applied sciences
Chemical modifications
Chemical reactions and properties
Exact sciences and technology
Organic polymers
Physicochemistry of polymers
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Summary:The chemical grafting of alkanethiol-terminated poly(ethylene glycol) to a gold substrate from dimethylformamide solution was monitored by in situ ellipsometry for several molar concentrations. In the initial stage a layer of mushroom-like moieties forms and, on a much longer time scale, is followed by conformational conversion (and further adsorption) to a dense brush of stretched polymers. A statistical mechanical theory is presented that allows for a nonuniform grafting density and conformational conversion. It accounts fully for all observed details.
ISSN:0295-5075
1286-4854
DOI:10.1209/epl/i2003-00205-7