Polymer Brushes via Surface-Initiated Electrochemically Mediated ATRP: Role of a Sacrificial Initiator in Polymerization of Acrylates on Silicon Substrates

Silicon wafers as semiconductors are essential components of integrated circuits in electronic devices. For this reason, modification of the silicon surface is an important factor in the manufacturing of new hybrid materials applied in micro- and nanoelectronics. Herein, copolymer brushes of hydroph...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Materials 2020-08, Vol.13 (16), p.3559
Main Authors: Flejszar, Monika, Chmielarz, Paweł, Wolski, Karol, Grześ, Gabriela, Zapotoczny, Szczepan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acrylates
Atomic force microscopy
Biosensors
Brushes
Contact angle
Copolymers
Electrodes
Electronic devices
Free surfaces
Hydroxyethyl acrylate
Initiators
Integrated circuits
Methods
Molecular weight
Nanoelectronics
Nanomaterials
Parameter modification
Polymerization
Polymers
Silicon substrates
Silicon wafers
Spectrum analysis
Surface energy
Thickness
Voltammetry
Wafers
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Summary:Silicon wafers as semiconductors are essential components of integrated circuits in electronic devices. For this reason, modification of the silicon surface is an important factor in the manufacturing of new hybrid materials applied in micro- and nanoelectronics. Herein, copolymer brushes of hydrophilic poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate) (PHEA) and hydrophobic poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (PtBA) were grafted from silicon wafers via simplified electrochemically mediated atom transfer radical polymerization (seATRP) according to a surface-initiated approach. The syntheses of PHEA-b-PtBA copolymers were carried out with diminished catalytic complex concentration (successively 25 and 6 ppm of Cu). In order to optimize the reaction condition, the effect of the addition of a supporting electrolyte was investigated. A controlled increase in PHEA brush thickness was confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Various other parameters including contact angles and free surface energy (FSE) for the modified silicon wafer were presented. Furthermore, the effect of the presence of a sacrificial initiator in solution on the thickness of the grafted brushes was reported. Successfully fabricated inorganic–organic hybrid nanomaterials show potential application in biomedicine and microelectronics devices, e.g., biosensors.
ISSN:1996-1944
1996-1944
DOI:10.3390/ma13163559