Anchored polymers, gradients

Anchored Polymers with Grafting Density Gradients. 69... 

Anchored Polymers with Molecular Weight Gradients. 86... 

Fig. 3 Schematic illustrating a conformations of stuface-anchored polymers, and polymer brush assemblies with a b grafting density gradient, and c a gradient in polymer length. Part d depicts polymer conformations on a substrate comprising grafting density and polymer length orthogonal gradients...

Instabilities that manifest themselves in surfactant and polymeric systems have been considered in an attempted to elucidate the myelin instability. In polymer-like micelles (or wormlike micelles) instabilities have been observed in the directional growth of hexagonal phases in a temperature gradient (30), These instabilities are an example of the Mullins and Sekerloi type (31), In the case of polymer gels, instabilities appear during growth, which resemble a raspberry like texture at the surface. This instability is due to the elastic properties of the gel which is a network of chemically bonded polymers. As the gel swells at the surface it remains anchored to the rest of the unswollen gel and the surface buckles (50). 

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