Substrates used for electrostatic self-assembly

Synthetic substrates such as glass, quartz, mica, gold, silver and a wide array of polymers have been extensively used as base substrates for ESA deposition. Both hydrophilic (fluorine, glass and silicon) and 

Owing to the characteristics of the layer-by-layer deposition technique, the adsorption of the polyelectrolytes is dependent on the surface charge of the substrate rather than its topology. However, during the initial deposition steps the topology may play a major role. The amount of adsorbed 

The majority of the early work involving the layer-by-layer process involved inorganic substrates such as quartz and silicone since it was thought that the process required flat clean surfaces. Later on polymer films and other organic materials were used as substrates. Some of the most studied polymers include poly(propylene) (PP), poly(isobutylene) (PIB), poly(styrene) (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) and poly(ether imide) (PEI).  

Surface modification techniques used to charge the substrates on which the nanolayers are to be deposited can be categorized as physical or chemical. Chemical modification techniques include surface patterning, photobleaching or plasma treatment. Methods of physical modification primarily 

Several attempts have been made to add functionality to cotton fibers. One of the most viable methods includes the creation of cationic sites by using controlled epoxy-based chemical reactions. It has been previously reported that reacting cotton with 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride forms cationic charges on the surface of the fibers. While this process was originally developed to improve the affinity of cotton for anionic dyes, it has been recently used to provide the cotton fabric with a positive surface charge 

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