DOI: 10.1140/epje/i2002-10076-2
Scaling concepts for polymer brushes and their test with computer simulation
K. BinderInstitut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Staudinger Weg 7, 55099 Mainz, Germany kurt.binder@uni-mainz.de
(Received 11 March 2002 and Received in final form 3 June 2002 / Published online: 23 December 2002)
Abstract
After a brief review of the scaling concepts for static and dynamic
properties of polymer brushes in good solvents and Theta solvents,
the Monte Carlo evidence is discussed. It is shown that under typical
conditions the diameter of the last blob is of the order of
10-
20%
of the brush height, and therefore pronounced deviations from the
self-consistent field predictions occur. In bad solvents, lateral
microphase separation occurs leading to an irregular pattern of "dimples".
Particularly interesting is the response of brushes to shear deformation,
and the interaction between two interpenetrating brushes.
Recent attempts to understand the resulting shear forces via
molecular-dynamics simulations are briefly described, and an outlook on
related experiments is given.
61.25.Hq - Macromolecular and polymer solutions; polymer melts; swelling.
61.20.Ja - Computer simulation of liquid structure.
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2002