High-density polymer brushes

Tsujii, Y, Ohno, K., Yamamoto, S., Goto, A. and Fukuda, T. (2006) Structure and properties of high-density polymer brushes prepared by surface-initiated living radical polymerization. Adv. Polym. Sci., 197, 1-45. 

Structure and Properties of High-Density Polymer Brushes... 

Surface-initiated ATRP was applied not only on planer substrates but also on various kinds of flne particles. The latter systems will be reviewed separately in Sect. 5.1. Porous materials are also fascinating targets for chromatographic application making use of the unique structure and properties of high-density polymer brushes. Wirth et al. were the first to report the grafting of poly(acrylamide) (PAAm) on a porous silica gel [109,110]. 

Owing to the simphcity and versatility of surface-initiated ATRP, the above-mentioned AuNP work may be extended to other particles for their two- or three-dimensionally ordered assemblies with a wide controllabiUty of lattice parameters. In fact, a dispersion of monodisperse SiPs coated with high-density PMMA brushes showed an iridescent color, in organic solvents (e.g., toluene), suggesting the formation of a colloidal crystal [108]. To clarify this phenomenon, the direct observation of the concentrated dispersion of a rhodamine-labeled SiP coated with a high-density polymer brush was carried out by confocal laser scanning microscopy. As shown in Fig. 23, the experiment revealed that the hybrid particles formed a wide range of three-dimensional array with a periodic structure. This will open up a new route to the fabrication of colloidal crystals. 

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