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arXiv · 0812.0245

Nano-scale brushes: How to build a smart surface coating

Holger Merlitz·Gui-Li He·Chen-Xu Wu·Jens-Uwe Sommer
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Abstract

Via computer simulations, we demonstrate how a densely grafted layer of polymers, a {\it brush}, could be turned into an efficient switch through chemical modification of some of its end-monomers. In this way, a surface coating with reversibly switchable properties can be constructed. We analyze the fundamental physical principle behind its function, a recently discovered surface instability, and demonstrate that the combination of a high grafting density, an inflated end-group size and a high degree of monodispersity are conditions for an optimal functionality of the switch.

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Holger Merlitz, Gui-Li He, Chen-Xu Wu, Jens-Uwe Sommer. 2008-12-01. Nano-scale brushes: How to build a smart surface coating. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.102.115702

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