Synthesis and swelling behavior of pH-responsive polybase brushes

We synthesize polybase brushes and investigate their swelling behavior. Poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)) (PDMAEMA) brushes are prepared by the "grafting from" method using surface-initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization to obtain dense brushes with relatively monodisperse chains (PDI = 1.35). In situ quaternization reaction can be performed to obtain poly(2-(trimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)) (PTMAEMA) brushes. We determine the swollen thickness of the brushes using ellipsometry and neutron reflectivity techniques. Brushes are submitted to different solvent conditions to be investigated as neutral brushes and weak and strong polyelectrolyte brushes. The swelling of the brushes is systematically compared to scaling models. It should be pointed out that the scaling analysis of different types of brushes (neutral polymer and weak and strong polyelectrolyte brushes) is performed with identical samples. The scaling behavior of the PDMAEMA brush in methanol and the PTMAEMA brush in water is in good agreement with the predicted scaling laws for a neutral polymer brush in a good solvent and a polyelectrolyte brush in the osmotic regime. The salt-induced contraction of the quaternized brush is observed for high salt concentration, in agreement with the predicted transition between the regimes of the osmotic brush and the salted brush. From the crossover concentration, we calculate the effective charge ratio of the brush following the Manning counterion condensation. We also use PDMAEMA brushes as pH-responsive polybase brushes. The swelling behavior of the polybase brush is intermediate with respect to the behavior of the neutral polymer brush in a good solvent and the behavior of the quenched polyelectrolyte brush, as expected. The effective charge ratio of the PDMAEMA brush is determined as a function of pH using the scaling law of the polyelectrolyte brush in the osmotic regime.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of polyelectrolyte brushes: from single chains to bundles of chains

Using molecular dynamics simulations in combination with scaling analysis, we have studied the effects of the solvent quality and the strength of the electrostatic interactions on the conformations of spherical polyelectrolyte brushes in salt-free solutions. The spherical polyelectrolyte brush could be in one of four conformations: (1) a star-like conformation, (2) a "star of bundles" conformation in which the polyelectrolyte chains self-assemble into pinned cylindrical micelles, (3) a micelle-like conformation with a dense core and charged corona, or (4) a conformation in which there is a thin polymeric layer uniformly covering the particle surface. These different brush conformations appear as a result of the fine interplay between electrostatic and monomer-monomer interactions. The brush thickness depends nonmonotonically on the value of the Bjerrum length. This dependence of the brush thickness is due to counterion condensation inside the brush volume. We have also established that bundle formation in poor solvent conditions for the polymer backbone can also occur in a planar polyelectrolyte brush. In this case, the grafted polyelectrolyte chains form hemispherical aggregates at low polymer grafting densities, cylindrical aggregates at an intermediate range of the grafting densities, and vertically oriented ribbon-like aggregates at high grafting densities.     

Temperature-sensitive swelling of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) brushes with low molecular weight and grafting density

Temperature-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) brushes with different molecular weights M(n) and grafting densities σ were prepared by the "grafting-to" method. Changes in their physicochemical properties according to temperature were investigated with the help of in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry and in situ attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Brush criteria indicate a transition between a brush conformation below the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and an intermediate to mushroom conformation above the LCST. By in situ ellipsometry distinct changes in the brush layer parameters (wet thickness, refractive index, buffer content) were observed. A broadening of the temperature region with maximum deswelling occurred with decreasing grafting density. The brush layer properties were independent of the grafting density below the LCST, but showed a virtually monotonic behavior above the LCST. The midtemperature ?(half) of the deswelling process increased with increasing grafting density. Thus grafting density-dependent design parameters for such functional films were presented. For the first time, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy was used to monitor segment density and hydrogen bonding changes of these very thin PNIPAAm brushes as a function of temperature based on significant variations of the methyl stretching, Amide I, as well as Amide II bands with respect to intensity and wavenumber position. No dependence on M(n) and σ in the wavenumber shift of these bands above the LCST was found. The temperature profile of these band intensities and thus segment density was found to be rather step-like, exceeding temperatures around the LCST, while the respective profile of their wavenumber positions suggested continuous structural and hydration processes. Remaining buffer amounts and residual intermolecular segment/water interaction in the collapsed brushes above the LCST could be confirmed by both in situ methods.     

Controlled pore functionalization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) track-etched membranes via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization

A new method for surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) on the technical polymer poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has been developed which allows controlling and estimating the layer thickness of the grafted polymer in the isocylindrical pores of track-etched membranes. After PET surface treatment by oxidative hydrolysis, the bromoalkyl initiator was immobilized on the PET surface in a two-step solid-phase reaction; the isoporous membrane structure was preserved, and the pore diameter was increased from 760 to 790 nm. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) was grafted under ATRP conditions from a methanol/water mixture at room temperature. Both monomer concentration and reaction time could be used as parameters to adjust the degree of grafting. Effective grafted layer thickness and its response to temperature were estimated from pure water permeability. All data, especially the high polymer densities (0.37 g/cm3) in the swollen layers at 25 degrees C, indicate that grafted PNIPAAm with a "brush" structure has been achieved. For dry PNIPAAm layer thicknesses on the PET pore walls of up to 80 nm, a temperature-induced swelling/deswelling ratio of approximately 3 had been observed. Reduction of the brush grafting density, via composition of the reaction mixture used in solid-phase synthesis for initiator immobilization, led to an increase of that swelling/deswelling ratio. Further, density and temperature response of the grafted PNIPAAm layers synthesized via ATRP were compared with those obtained in the same membranes by less controlled photografting, leading to lower grafting density and larger gradients in grafted layer density and, consequently, much higher swelling/deswelling ratios (>15).     

Bending moduli of dendritic polymer brushes in a good solvent

The effect of branching on the Helfrich mean k _C and Gaussian k _G bending moduli of polymer brushes consisting of dendrons grafted to both sides of a thin impermeable surface (membrane) is studied theoretically. The case of an athermal solvent is considered. The moduli are calculated from a change in the free energy of a brush upon cylindrical and spherical bending of the grafting surface, respectively. The grafting density σ, the total number of monomer units N, and the number of generations g in tethered dendrons are varied. Two variants of the self-consistent field method are applied: the analytical approach and the numerical Scheutjens-Fleer method. The first method is applied at small values of σ, when the density profile of monomer units of grafted chains is parabolic in shape. The second method is free of these restrictions. The universal ratio between moduli is found: k _G =?64/105k _C . Both methods predict that the values of moduli decrease with increasing g at constant N and σ. The scaling dependence N ³ remains valid for the moduli of dendritic brushes with different generation numbers g at all of the considered values of σ. The analytical approach also gives the universal scaling dependence k _C ～ k _G ～ σ^7/3; however, the numerical method predicts that the dependences of moduli on σ become stronger with increasing degree of branching of tethered dendrons.     

Liquid-crystalline polymer brushes: deformation and microphase segregation

A statistical theory of the structure and thermodynamics of a planar brush (‘accordion’) formed by bridged polymer chains containing mesogenic segments and immersed in a solvent is developed. It is shown that deformation of an accordion can lead to the formation of a two-phase structure with coexisting liquid-crystalline (LC) and swollen microphases. Phase diagrams for accordions with different grafting densities are obtained. The influence of anisotropic interaction between mesogenic segments on the structure of phase diagrams is investigated.     

Theoretical study on tethered polymers with explicit grafting points in Θ-solvent

Systematic studies on the polymers chemically grafted onto a solid substrate with various grafting densities are presented based on the self-consistent mean-field theory (SCMFT). The distribution of the grafting points is explicitly included and all the three coordinates of each grafting point are fixed during the calculations. The existence of solvent molecules is also explicitly considered in the model and the case of Θ-solvent is investigated. The structure of the system is derived by solving the SCMFT equations in three-dimensional space. For the cases of low grafting density, the system is highly inhomogeneous and typical mushroom-like structures are derived. On the other hand, when the grafting density is high enough, the system is nearly homogeneous along the substrate and the polymer concentration profile is consistent with the numerical results of one dimensional SCMFT calculations. The crossover between "mushroom" regime and polymer brush is obtained by tuning the grafting density. In addition, in brush limit, while the root-mean-squared thickness of the brush is linearly dependent on the degree of polymerization, its dependency on the grafting density is in general more complicated than a simple power law.     

Combinatorial study of the mushroom-to-brush crossover in surface anchored polyacrylamide

We present a method for fabricating anchored polymers with a gradual variation of grafting densities on solid substrates. The technique for generating such structures comprises (i) formation of a molecular gradient of polymerization initiator on the solid substrate and (ii) polymerization from the substrate-bound initiator centers ("grafting from"). We measure the mushroom-to-brush transition in grafted polyacrylamides and show that the mushroom and brush behavior can be described using existing scaling theories.     

When tethered chains meet free ones; the stability of polymer wetting films on polymer brushes

We present a combined experimental and theoretical self-consistent field (SCF) investigation of the wetting behavior of a polystyrene melt (composed of chains with degree of polymerization P) on top of a polystyrene brush (composed of chains with length N) grafted onto a silica surface. The control variables are the grafting density σ of the brush chains and the length of mobile chains P. Experiments show in agreement with the theory that there is a window of complete wetting. Both at very low and at high grafting densities the system remains partial wet. At large degree of polymerization P, there is a difference between the experimental and theoretical results. Theory predicts partial wetting only, whereas the window of complete wetting persists in the experiments even when P >> N. This difference is attributed to the double-well structure of the disjoining pressure as revealed by the SCF theory. With this type of disjoining pressure it is conceivable that a metastable zero contact angle remains present for very long times.     

Polymer brushes grafted to "passivated" silicon substrates using click chemistry

We present herein a versatile method for grafting polymer brushes to passivated silicon surfaces based on the Cu(I)-catalyzed Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (click chemistry) of omega-azido polymers and alkynyl-functionalized silicon substrates. First, the "passivation" of the silicon substrates toward polymer adsorption was performed by the deposition of an alkyne functionalized self-assembled monolayer (SAM). Then, three tailor-made omega-azido linear brush precursors, i.e., PEG-N3, PMMA-N3, and PS-N3 (Mn approximately 20,000 g/mol), were grafted to alkyne-functionalized SAMs via click chemistry in tetrahydrofuran. The SAM, PEG, PMMA, and PS layers were characterized by ellipsometry, scanning probe microscopy, and water contact angle measurements. Results have shown that the grafting process follows the scaling laws developed for polymer brushes, with a significant dependence over the weight fraction of polymer in the grafting solution and the grafting time. The chemical nature of the brushes has only a weak influence on the click chemistry grafting reaction and morphologies observed, yielding polymer brushes with thickness of ca. 6 nm and grafting densities of ca. 0.2 chains/nm2. The examples developed herein have shown that this highly versatile and tunable approach can be extended to the grafting of a wide range of polymer (pseudo-) brushes to silicon substrates without changing the tethering strategy.     

Polymer Chain Conformation on Deuterated Polystyrene Nanoparticles Investigated by SANS

We previously reported that grafted polystyrene (PS) chains on silica nanoparticles at a low grafting density show similar conformations to free PS chains in the same solvent, THF (diameter ?50 nm, Colloid.poly.Sci. (2013), 291, 9, 2087–2099). As an extension of our previous study we choose an organic nanoparticle (deuterated polystyrene, dPS) instead of inorganic nanoparticle to see the impact of the substrate material on chain conformation. Additionally, a wider range of molecular weights were prepared to investigate the conformation feature of grafted PS chains more in detail. Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments were performed to characterize PS grafted dPS particles in good solvent condition, with deuterated toluene and deuterated THF as solvent. To get insight into the conformation of the grafted PS layer we apply a scaling law describing the dimension of free PS polymer in good solvent condition to the obtained thickness of the grafted PS layer. We find an overall agreement with the scaling law where the thickness of the grafted PS layer is slightly larger than 2R_g of the free polymer chains in the respective solvent giving hint for semi dilute polymer brush (SDPB) situation.     

Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) brushes patterned on silica surfaces by very-large-scale integration process

We used a novel fabricated process including electron beam and isotropic oxygen plasma to generate signal line patterns of polymerized 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) on patterned Si(1 0 0) surfaces. Isotropic oxygen plasma was introduced to enhance the resolutions of the line and dots patterns of the PHEMA brush are approached to 350 nm and 2 μm, respectively. We established the surface grafting polymerization kinetics of the PHEMA chains on silicon surface by to fit the thickness and number-average molecular weight (M(n)). The propagation rate (k(p)) and active grafting specie deactivation rate (k(d)) lies in the range of ~3.6 × 10(-2) s(-1) M(-1) and 4.8 × 10(-5) s(-1), respectively. The measured thicknesses by ellipsometer and analyzed M(n) of "free" PHEMA by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) are fitted well by the polymerization kinetic model. In addition, aspect-ratios (height/width) are used to define the shape of patterned PHEMA brushes. The high-aspect-ratio of the PHEMA brush line with width of 350 nm is 0.27. We use a graft polymerization/solvent immersion method for generating various patterns of polymer brushes to investigate the deformation of the PHEMA brush through aspect-ratios.     

Site competition during coadsorption of acetone with methanol and water on TiO2(110)

The competitive interaction between acetone and two solvent molecules (methanol and water) for surface sites on rutile TiO(2)(110) was studied using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD). On a vacuum-annealed TiO(2)(110) surface, which possessed ~5% oxygen vacancy sites, excess methanol displaced preadsorbed acetone molecules to weakly bound and physisorbed desorption states below 200 K. In contrast, acetone molecules were stabilized on an oxidized surface against displacement by methanol through formation of acetone diolate species. The behavior of acetone with methanol differs from the interactions between acetone and water which are less competitive. Examination of acetone + methanol and acetone + water multilayer combinations shows that acetone is more compatible in water-ice films than in methanol-ice films, presumably because water has greater potential as a hydrogen-bond donor than does methanol. Acetone molecules displaced from the TiO(2)(110) surface by water are more likely to be retained in the near-surface region, in turn having a greater opportunity to revisit the surface, than when methanol is used as a coadsorbate.     

An experimental-theoretical analysis of protein adsorption on peptidomimetic polymer brushes

Surface-grafted water-soluble polymer brushes are being intensely investigated for preventing protein adsorption to improve biomedical device function, prevent marine fouling, and enable applications in biosensing and tissue engineering. In this contribution, we present an experimental-theoretical analysis of a peptidomimetic polymer brush system with regard to the critical brush density required for preventing protein adsorption at varying chain lengths. A mussel adhesive-inspired DOPA-Lys (DOPA = 3,4-dihydroxy-phenylalanine; Lys = lysine) pentapeptide surface grafting motif enabled aqueous deposition of our peptidomimetic polypeptoid brushes over a wide range of chain densities. Critical densities of 0.88 nm(-2) for a relatively short polypeptoid 10-mer to 0.42 nm(-2) for a 50-mer were identified from measurements of protein adsorption. The experiments were also compared with the protein adsorption isotherms predicted by a molecular theory. Excellent agreements in terms of both the polymer brush structure and the critical chain density were obtained. Furthermore, atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging is shown to be useful in verifying the critical brush density for preventing protein adsorption. The present coanalysis of experimental and theoretical results demonstrates the significance of characterizing the critical brush density in evaluating the performance of an antifouling polymer brush system. The high fidelity of the agreement between the experiments and molecular theory also indicate that the theoretical approach presented can aid in the practical design of antifouling polymer brush systems.     

Diffuse interface between polymers: Structure and kinetics

The interfacial structure and diffusion kinetics of two compatible polymers, poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) are studied in the melt. The interdiffusion rates of the two components are found to be unequal, giving unequal diffusion coefficients, a net mass flow across the interface, and an asymmetric interfacial composition profile. The structure and kinetics confirm the predictions of the reptation theory. The interfacial thickness d grows with t^1/2, and the interdiffusion coefficient is proportional to M^?2, where t is the time and M is the molecular weight. The scaling law for the interfacial thickness is therefore d ∝ M^?1t^1/2. The number of chains per unit area crossing the original interface reaches a constant value independent of diffusion time after a short induction time on the order of the tube disengagement time (about 0.1–10 s in the present cases depending on the molecular weights). The adhesive bond strength σ is scaled by σ ∝ t^1/4M^?1/2 and σ/σ∞ ∝ t^1/4M^?1/2 [1- (M_c/M)]^?1, where σ _∞is the σ at infinite molecular weight and M_c is the entanglement molecular weight.     

Interaction between brush layers of bottle-brush polyelectrolytes: molecular dynamics simulations

Interactions between tethered layers composed of aggrecan (charged bottle-brush) macromolecules are responsible for the molecular origin of cartilage biomechanical behavior. To elucidate the role of the electrostatic forces in interaction between bottle-brush layers, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations of charged and neutral bottle-brush macromolecules tethered to substrates. In the case of charged bottle-brush layers, the disjoining pressure P between two brush layers in salt-free solutions increases with decreasing distance D between substrates as P ∝ D(-1.8). A stronger dependence of the disjoining pressure P on the surface separation D was observed for neutral bottle-brushes, P ∝ D(-4.6), in the same interval of disjoining pressures. These scaling laws for dependence of disjoining pressure P on distance D are due to bending energy of the bottle-brush macromolecules within compressed brush layers. The weaker distance dependence observed in polyelectrolyte bottle-brushes is due to interaction between counterion clouds surrounding the bottle-brush macromolecules preventing strong brush overlap.     

Amphiphilic polymer brush in a mixture of incompatible liquids

An analogue of the Alexander‐DeGennes box model is used for theoretical investigation of polymer brushes in a mixture of two solvents. The basic solvent A and the admixture B are assumed to be highly incompatible (Flory‐Huggins parameter χ_AB = 3.5). Thermodynamics of a polymer in the solvents A and B are described by parameters χ_B < χ_A ≤ 1/2. The equilibrium behavior of a brush is investigated in dependence on solvent composition, grafting density, polymer‐solvents and solvent‐solvent interactions. The possibility of a phase transition related with a strong preferential solvation of a brush by a minor solvent component with higher affinity to polymer is shown and examined. Microphase segregation inside a brush is also demonstrated despite overestimating of the brush homogeneity given by the box model. A further simplification of the model permits to obtain scaling formulas and to investigate main regularities in the brush behavior. This offers a clear physical picture of the phase segregation inside a brush in correlation with the phase state of a bulk solvent.     

Monte Carlo studies of tethered chains

Monte Carlo computer simulations of end-tethered chains grafted onto a hard wall have been performed. The chains were modeled as self-avoiding chains on a cubic lattice at athermal solvent conditions. The simulations spanned a wide range of chain lengths, N (100–1000, i.e., up to molecular weights of a few hundred thousands), and anchoring densities, σ (2 × 10⁻⁴ to 0.4), to properly chart the relevant parameter space. It is shown that the reduced surface coverage σ* = σπR is the most appropriate variable that quantitatively determines the mushroom, overlapping mushroom and brush regimes, where R_g is the radius of gyration of a free chain in solution. The simulation data are analyzed to determine the conformational characteristics and shape of the anchored chains and to compare them with the predictions of the analytical self consistent field theory. The strong stretching limit of the theoretical predictions is obtained only for σ* > 8. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47:2449–2461, 2009     

Polyelectrolyte brushes

The simple scaling theory of weakly-charged polyelectrolyte brush (the layer of polyelectrolyte chains grafted at one end onto an impermeable surface) immersed into a good solvent has been developed.The asymptotic scaling dependences of the free layer thickness on charge density and solvent strength are obtained. The behavior of polyelectrolyte brush subjected to normal and tangential external forces is considered. New “polyelectrolyte effect” is predicted: shear of a free polyelectrolyte brush leads to a decrease in brush thickness in contrast to the case of a free neutral brush. Such behavior is equivalent to that of a neutral brush subjected to external normal stretching force. This force in the case of polyelectrolyte brush is created by the osmotic pressure of mobile counterions neutralizing grafted chain charges.     

A theoretical study of medium effects on the transmission mechanisms of the fermi contact term of spin–spin coupling constants in the acetamide molecule

Solvent effects on different transmission mechanisms of spin–spin coupling constants are analyzed from a theoretical viewpoint. Medium effects are introduced using the solvaton model, and the decomposition of coupling constants in σ- and π-electron transmitted components is accomplished with the PRMO method. Trends thus obtained are in fairly good agreement with experimental findings reported in the literature. In all types of couplings studied in this work, σ and π components show opposite behavior when increasing the polarity of the solvent.