Conformational Change of Grafted Polymer Chains

Keywords Conformational change Polymer brushes Polyelectrolyte Hydration Electrostatic interaction Folding Counterion condensation Charge reversion 

It is well-known that the interfacial properties are significantly influenced by the conformation of polymer chains grafted at interfaces [1-4]. However, the in situ real-time characterization of the conformational change of grafted chains still remains a challenge [5, 6]. Generally, polymer chains at the solid/liquid interface 

Liu and G. Zhang, QCM-D Studies on Polymer Behavior at Interfaces, SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-39790-5 2, The Author(s) 2013 

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The termination rate constant has also been proposed to depend on the grafting density (model-predicted thickness with experimental data [102]. The exponential decrease in termination rate constant ( t) as grafting density increases could be a result of conformational change of the polymer chains. 

Lee, H.-L, Boyce, J. R., Nese, A., Sheiko, S. S., Matyjaszewski, K. (2008). pH-indnced conformational changes of loosely grafted molecular brushes containing poly(acrylic acid) side chains. Polymer, 49, 5490-5496. 

As the amount of grafted PAAc increases further, pore blocking overwhelms the conformational changes of the grafted chains due to the interactions of the polymer chains, causing only small changes in the permeability of riboflavin in response to the pH. Therefore, for a UA5 sample, the extension and... 

At very close tip-substrate separation, an unpredicted peak was observed in the current response. Analysis of the force curve and random walk simulations of the chain conformation enabled this peak to be attributed to compression-induced conformational change of the end-grafted chains overcompressed chains elongate to escape confinement. These results illustrate the power of SECM-AFM in being able to characterize, in situ, the dynamics of end-grafted polymer chains. Moreover, as SECM-AFM allows the force and current responses associated with chain compression to be simultaneously measured, the interplay between chain conformation and dynamics and their modulation upon confinement can be explored. Additionally, as SECM-AFM is a local probe... 

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