Wormlike Polystyrene Brushes in Thin Films

Mono- and multilayer films were prepared on mica by solution casting of a high molecular weight polymacromonomer, i.e., a polymethacrylate of about 1000 repeating units each of which was substituted by a polystyrene chain with a molecular weight of about 5000 Da. The films were studied by tapping scanning force microscopy. The material showed a remarkable preference for forming well-defined monolayers of a thickness of 6.5 ± 0.2 nm consistent with the hard core diameter of the collapsed cylindrical brush molecules. When the films were probed with high normal force, the single molecules were observed to organize in a dense nematic-like packing as expected for inherently stiff molecules. In o…