Search results for "rush"
showing 10 items of 216 documents
Adsorption of Oligomers and Polymers into a Polymer Brush Formed from Grafted Ring Polymers
2013
The interaction of a ring polymer brush with a solution containing oligomers or free linear flexible macromolecules is studied by Monte Carlo simulation, varying the chain length of the free chains, and in selected cases also the lengths of the rings. Two grafting densities are studied, corresponding to semidilute and very concentrated conditions, and a comparison with the corresponding case of brushes formed from grafted linear chains is made. Although the ring polymer linear dimensions in the brushes show an anomalous scaling with ring length, similar to (noncatenated) ring polymer melts, the concentration profiles of oligomers and long macromolecules in ring polymer brushes differ only v…
Interaction Between Polymer Brush-Coated Spherical Nanoparticles: Effect of Solvent Quality
2012
The interaction between two spherical polymer brushes in solvents of variable quality is studied by molecular dynamics simulation and by self-consistent field theory, varying both the radius of the spherical particles and their distance, as well as the grafting density and the chain length of the end-grafted flexible polymer chains. Both the potential of mean force between the particles as a function of their distance is computed, for various choices of the parameters mentioned above, and the structural characteristics are discussed (density profiles, average end-to-end distance of grafted chains, etc.) It is found that for rather short chain lengths and not too large grafting densities, is…
Unconventional ordering behavior of semi-flexible polymers in dense brushes under compression
2014
Using a coarse-grained bead-spring model for semi-flexible macromolecules which form a polymer brush, the structure and dynamics of the polymers were investigated, varying the chain stiffness and the grafting density. The anchoring conditions for the grafted chains were chosen such that their first bonds were oriented along the normal to the substrate plane. The compression of such a semi-flexible brush by a planar piston was observed to be a two-stage process: for a small compression the chains were shown to contract by "buckling" deformation whereas for a larger compression the chains exhibited a collective (almost uniform) bending deformation. Thus, the stiff polymer brush underwent a 2n…
Brownian dynamics simulation of grafted polymer brushes
1995
We present results of computer simulations by the method of Brownian dynamics of polymeric brushes attached to impenetrable planes. For testing both model and method we have used one polymer brush attached to a repulsive plane and compare some results with Monte Carlo results of Lai and Binder on the bond fluctuation model. We have also studied two polymeric brushes attached to two parallel planes at different distances between planes, and investigate the interplay between the interpenetration of the brushes and the configurational properties of the grafted chains.
Structure of a bidisperse polymer brush: Monte Carlo simulation and self-consistent field results
1992
Using the bond-fluctuation model, Monte Carlo simulations are performed for polymer brushes composed of chains of two different chain lengths under good solvent condition. Profiles of monomer density and free end density, chain linear dimensions, and average monomer position along a chain are studied. Quantities measured in the simulations are derived from the analytic self-consistent field (SCF) theory and compared with the simulation data. The structural properties can be quite accurately described by the theory only when both the long and short chains are stretched
Stochastic dynamics simulation of grafted polymer brushes under shear deformation
1998
We present results of computer simulations of polymer brushes (layers of polymer chains attached at one end onto an impermeable planar surface) under shear deformation at constant shear rate. As the first stage of calculations the behavior of a single brush was studied. The monomer density profile, the distribution of the chain ends, the positions and orientations of different monomers along the chain were calculated. Dimensions of the polymer chains as functions of the shear rate were obtained for different grafting densities. An increase in the brush thickness over the grafting plane with an increase in the shear rate as predicted by the theory of Barrat was observed. However, the magnitu…
How does the pattern of grafting points influence the structure of one-component and mixed polymer brushes?
2005
Using Monte Carlo simulations of a coarse-grained bead-spring model we study the lateral structure formation of one-component polymer brushes in a bad solvent and of a mixed polymer brush upon increasing the incompatibility of the two species. We compare the morphology of the brush with a regular distribution of grafting points and with a random arrangement. Density or composition fluctuations of the grafting points enhance the formation of irregular structures but randomness prevents the formation of long-range order. Even small fluctuations of the grafting points are sufficient to pin the lateral structures of the brush.
Can one detach a fully adsorbed flexible polymer chain by an ultra-small external force?
2013
Full adsorption of flexible chains onto typical solid substrates occurs at a surface interaction energy of (5–10) kBT. The corresponding detachment force is in the range 10–50 pN. In contrast to “bare” solid substrates common to non-living materials, surfaces coated with brush-like polymer layers are very common in biological soft matter. We employ a simple mean-field approach to describe the effects of weak attraction between a floating long macromolecule and the brush. We show that even for a moderately thick brush a very small effective attraction is enough to produce complete binding of the long chain. The detachment force scales as , where W is the brush thickness. Hence the force coul…
Interplay between Chain Collapse and Microphase Separation in Bottle-Brush Polymers with Two Types of Side Chains
2010
Conformations of a bottle-brush polymer with two types (A,B) of grafted side chains are studied by molecular dynamics simulations, using a coarse-grained bead−spring model with side chains of up to...
A Click Chemistry-Based “Grafting Through” Approach to the Synthesis of a Biorelevant Polymer Brush
2011
A new biorelevant polymer brush showing a polybenzofulvene backbone was synthesized by a ‘‘grafting through’’ approach based on click chemistry and spontaneous polymerization reactions. The easy polymerization of the relatively complex monomer (6-MOEG-9-TM-BF3k) suggests the existence of a particularly efficient recognition process capable of pre-organizing the monomer molecules for the spontaneous polymerization. 13C-NMR spectroscopy as well as UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy suggested for poly-6-MOEG-9-TM-BF3k the features of a vinyl (1,2) p-stacked polymer. The new polybenzofulvene derivative was found to interact with water at room temperature to give clear water solutions, but TEM…