Changes in the structure of tethered chain molecules as predicted by density functional approach

We use a version of the density functional theory to study the changes in the height of the tethered layer of chains built of jointed spherical segments with the change of the length and surface density of chains. For the model in which the interactions between segments and solvent molecules are the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCondensed matter physics Vol. 14; no. 3; p. 33604
Main Authors Borówko, Patrykiejew, Pizio, Sokołowski
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Institute for Condensed Matter Physics 01.01.2011
Subjects
adsorption
brush
density functional theory
scaling
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Summary:We use a version of the density functional theory to study the changes in the height of the tethered layer of chains built of jointed spherical segments with the change of the length and surface density of chains. For the model in which the interactions between segments and solvent molecules are the same as between solvent molecules we have discovered two effects that have not been observed in previous studies. Under certain conditions and for low surface concentrations of the chains, the height of the pinned layer may attain a minimum. Moreover, for some systems we observe that when the temperature increases, the height of the layer of chains may decrease.
ISSN:1607-324X
DOI:10.5488/CMP.14.33604