Adsorption-desorption of Silica Nanoparticles on Poly(ethylene glycol) Brushes Grafted onto Au Substrate Studied by Quartz Crystal Microbalance

The adsorption-desorption of silica nanoparticles(NPs) on poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG) grafted onto gold(Au) substrate was studied by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring(QCM-D) technique. The results of frequency and dissipation show that SiO₂ NPs can be adsorbed strongly on PEG-SH brushes at pH of 9.6, and a new dense and rigid construction is formed. Adjusting the pH from 9.6 to 12.3 resulted in the desorption of silica NPs from the PEG brushes because of a significant weakening of the hydrogen bond between the silica NPs and PEG chains. In addition, the viscoelastic properties of the system during the adsorption-desorption process were also analyzed via the relationship between the normalized frequency(Δf/n) and mass. And the corresponding atomic force microscopy(AFM) images also exhibit morphological changes during the above process, consistent with the changes in viscoelasticity.