DOI: 10.1140/epje/i2002-10092-2
Adsorption of a semiflexible wormlike chain
A.N. SemenovInstitut Charles Sadron, 6 rue Boussingault, 67083 Strasbourg Cedex, France semenov@polly.phys.msu.ru
(Received 10 October 2002 and Received in final form 22 November 2002 / Published online: 21 January 2003)
Abstract
Adsorption of ideal polymers with stiff backbone onto a flat surface
is considered theoretically. Both scaling approach and quantitative
theory are developed. We predict a self-similar monomer
concentration profile
near the surface (when the
distance to the surface
x is much smaller than the chain persistence
length
l/2). The typical conformation of a weakly adsorbed chain can
be viewed as a sequence of alternating flat (2-dimensional) trains of
wormlike short loops (flat blobs) and coil-like (3-dimensional) loops
forming a triple-layer structure: contact layer
) of adsorbed
fragments virtually laid on the surface, proximal layer
) of
flat blobs, and more dilute distal corona layer
(x>l). Here
defines
the range of monomer/surface attraction,
. The adsorption
transition is continuous. However, its relative width
is small
(T*
is the adsorption temperature,
is the relevant temperature
interval):
, i.e. a discontinuous transition in the limit
.
61.25.Hq - Macromolecular and polymer solutions; polymer melts; swelling.
67.70.+n - Films (including physical adsorption).
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2002