https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2009-10492-8
Regular Article
Pulling an adsorbed polymer chain off a solid surface
1
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 10 Ackermannweg, 55128, Mainz, Germany
2
Institute for Physical Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Science, 1113, Sofia, Bulgaria
* e-mail: bhattach@mpip-mainz.mpq.de
Received:
1
April
2009
Revised:
29
May
2009
Accepted:
4
June
2009
Published online:
16
July
2009
The thermally assisted detachment of a self-avoiding polymer chain from an adhesive surface by an external force applied to one of the chain-ends is investigated. We perform our study in the “fixed height” statistical ensemble where one measures the fluctuating force, exerted by the chain on the last monomer when a chain-end is kept fixed at height h over the solid plane at different adsorption strength 
. The phase diagram in the h - plane is calculated both analytically and by Monte Carlo simulations. We demonstrate that in the vicinity of the polymer desorption transition a number of properties like fluctuations and probability distribution of various quantities behave differently, if h rather than f is used as an independent control parameter.
PACS: 82.35.Gh Polymers on surfaces; adhesion – / 64.60.A- Specific approaches applied to studies of phase transitions – / 62.25.+g Mechanical properties of nanoscale systems –
© EDP Sciences, SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2009
