Interactions between charged surfaces and functionalized grafted polymer layers

Peng Gong, I. Szleifer*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

The interactions between charged surfaces and grafted polymers with a functional group of opposite charge have been studied using a molecular theory. The ability to control the range and strength of the interactions by changing the polymer chain length, surface coverage, surface charge density, solution ionic strength, and position of the functional group along the chain is demonstrated. When the charge density on the surface is larger than that of the polymer, the minimal free energy is relatively sharp and is found at a separation between the surfaces equal to the polymer layer thickness. For polymer layers that have more charge than the opposite surface, the minimal free energy shows a plateau that can extend for a few nanometers. We show that manipulation of the position of the charged moiety along the polymer chain enables the design of surfaces with optimal attractive interactions of tunable range and strength.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)5466-5476
Number of pages11
JournalIndustrial and Engineering Chemistry Research
Volume45
Issue number16
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2 2006

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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