Effect of Crosslinking on the Microtribological Behavior of Model Polymer Brushes

Polymer brushes in good solvents are known to exhibit excellent tribological properties. We have modeled polymer brushes and gels using a multibead-spring model and studied their tribological behavior via nonequilibrium molecular dynamics. Simulations of brush-against-wall systems were performed usi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tribology letters 2016-08, Vol.63 (2), p.1-9, Article 17
Main Authors: Singh, Manjesh K., Ilg, Patrick, Espinosa-Marzal, Rosa M., Kröger, Martin, Spencer, Nicholas D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brushes
Chains (polymeric)
Chemistry and Materials Science
Coefficient of friction
Computer simulation
Corrosion and Coatings
Crosslinking
Gels
Lubrication
Materials Science
Molecular dynamics
Nanotechnology
Original Paper
Physical Chemistry
Polymers
Shear strength
Shear stress
Solvents
Stress concentration
Surfaces and Interfaces
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Thin Films
Tribology
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Summary:Polymer brushes in good solvents are known to exhibit excellent tribological properties. We have modeled polymer brushes and gels using a multibead-spring model and studied their tribological behavior via nonequilibrium molecular dynamics. Simulations of brush-against-wall systems were performed using an implicit solvent-based approach. Polymer chains were modeled as linear chains, randomly grafted on a planar surface. Quantities extracted from the simulations are the normal stress, shear stress and concentration profiles. We find that while an increase in the degree of crosslinking leads to an increase in the coefficient of friction, an increase in the length of crosslinker chains does the opposite. The effect of crosslinking can be understood in two ways: (1) There is a lower polymer concentration in the outer layer to take part in brush-assisted lubrication as the degree of crosslinking increases and (2) crosslinked polymer chains are more resistant to shear than noncrosslinked ones.
ISSN:1023-8883
1573-2711
DOI:10.1007/s11249-016-0705-8