Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wei Li, Wenbo Sheng, Bin Li, Rainer Jordan
Summary: The report presents a facile and generalized approach to modify solid surfaces with polymer brushes under ambient conditions using filter paper-assisted surface-initiated Cu-0-mediated controlled radical polymerization (PSI-CuCRP). The method allows for selective surface grafting with good control over polymer brush quality, demonstrating the versatility by grafting different polymer brushes with high chain-end functionality. The combination of photolithography and paper cutting enables the preparation of arbitrary three-dimensional patterned polymer brushes on the surface.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Andres B. Sanchez-Alvarado, Jackeline Iturbe-Ek, Narsimha Mamidi, Alan O. Sustaita
Summary: Nanomaterial-based hybrid devices have shown potential in environmental contaminant sensing, where polymer thin films are exploited as functional sensing materials. Covalently functionalized polymer films, produced through surface-initiated polymerizations, offer stability and the ability to tailor thickness. Copper-mediated CRP is a rapid technique that enhances the characteristics of surface-grafting polymer films for hybrid sensor devices.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Baoluo He, Qi Lu, Xiangyuan Zhao, Xiaozhi Zhang, Rong Mu, Wenbo Sheng, Bin Li, Shujuan Liu, Qian Ye, Feng Zhou
Summary: This study reports a facile method of gallium-based liquid metal (GLM) nanodroplets mediated surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) for preparing polymer brushes on GLM surfaces. The feasibility of GLM surface modified SI-ATRP is confirmed by UV-vis spectra, which also indicates that the thickness and density of polymer brushes are crucial for successful ATRP on GLM nanodroplets surfaces. Polymer brushes modified GLM nanodroplets show potential applications such as friction reduction and oil-water emulsion separation.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biophysics
Fengjin Qu, Xiaoyan Ma, Julien E. Gautrot
Summary: This study demonstrates the precise positioning of enzyme glucose oxidase within block-copolymer brush nanostructures for the design of multifunctional biosensors. By controlling the polymer brush nanostructure, the researchers achieved low detection limit, broad detection range, and reliable "OFF" state. Through a combination of characterization methods, the unique properties of the hierarchical biocatalytic polymer brushes were confirmed for responsive biosensor design and complex multi-functional gating platforms.
BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Daheng Wu, Wei Li, Tao Zhang
Summary: The surface-tethered polymer brush is a powerful approach for tailoring surface properties and has broad application prospects. The surface-initiated zerovalent metal-mediated controlled radical polymerization (SI-Mt(0)CRP) provides a simplified method for synthesizing diverse functional polymer brushes with high grafting densities over large areas. SI-Mt(0)CRP offers advantages such as oxygen tolerance, high controllability, retention of chain-end functionality, and facile recyclability of metal catalysts.
ACCOUNTS OF CHEMICAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Xiaodong Yin, Daheng Wu, Haoyong Yang, Jianing Wang, Runhao Huang, Tianyue Zheng, Qi Sun, Tao Chen, Liping Wang, Tao Zhang
Summary: Iron-mediated surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization can be significantly enhanced by using seawater as the reaction media, enabling the rapid production of polymer surfaces with low toxicity and biocompatibility.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Isaac J. Gresham, Seamus G. Lilley, Andrew R. J. Nelson, Kaloian Koynov, Chiara Neto
Summary: This study quantifies the properties of a range of PDMS SCALS and elucidates their nanostructure responsible for their properties. The study also shows that the properties of SCALS can be predicted by reducing the grafting density, with the lowest water contact angle hysteresis achieved at a grafting density of approximately 2.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Diego Antonioli, Riccardo Chiarcos, Valentina Gianotti, Margherita Terragno, Michele Laus, Gianmarco Munao, Giuseppe Milano, Antonio De Nicola, Michele Perego
Summary: In this study, the grafting reaction of copolymers with different compositions onto a silicon wafer showed that lower molecular weight components are selectively incorporated into the polymeric brush. The time, temperature, and composition of blends were found to systematically affect the final brush layer composition. Hybrid particle-field simulations suggested that the preference of short chains to react with the silicon surface is influenced by the number of chains in contact with silica and the substrate surface area occupied by a single chain.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Eric Ziemann, Ji Qin, Tali Coves, Roy Bernstein
Summary: This research examined how linear or branched brushes on porous ultrafiltration membranes affect their antifouling behavior. By modifying polyethersulfone membranes, different polymer brushes were created using a one-pot lithiation/acylation process. Surface analyses showed differences in brush architecture and higher grafting for linear brushes compared to branched ones. Colloidal probe lateral force atomic force microscopy (LFM) demonstrated that lower branching degree poly(SBMA-co-MBAm) had ideal hydration-lubrication properties. Fouling experiments with bovine serum albumin and dextran showed that both linear and branched modifications reduced fouling compared to the pristine membrane. The study also found that an optimal degree of branching can limit foulant adsorption.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Rebecca Faggion Albers, Tommaso Magrini, Matteo Romio, Edson R. Leite, Rafael Libanori, Andre R. Studart, Edmondo M. Benetti
Summary: Cu-0-mediated surface-initiated ATRP is an oxygen-tolerant process for functionalizing 3D, microporous supports by forming single and multiple polymer-brush gradients with tunable composition. This process involves dispensing polymerization mixtures on a Cu-0-coated plate to scavenge oxygen and provide an active catalyst, leading to controlled growth of polymer brushes in contact with an ATRP initiator-bearing microporous elastomer.
Article
Polymer Science
Sheung-Yin Li, Benjamin S. S. Schon, Jadranka Travas-Sejdic
Summary: This study developed a novel method for grafting a polymer brush onto conducting polymer fiber mats by filtering the polymerization solution through the fiber mat. The morphology of the fiber mat surface gradually changed with the increasing volume of the filtrated polymerization solution. The conductive fiber mat grafted with hydrophilic brushes showed a 20% reduction in the non-specific adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) compared to a pristine fiber mat.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Min Ki Cho, Hyun Ji Seo, Ji Hoon Lee, Woo Kyung Cho, Kyung-sun Son
Summary: Surface-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization using oxygen (O-2-SI-RAFT) allows material-independent surface coating on various substrates in the presence of air. The excellent growth of polymer brushes, including the highest reported growth on Ti/TiO2 substrates, was characterized. Additionally, large surfaces can be coated with polymer brushes by O-2-SI-RAFT, demonstrating versatility and efficiency.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Abbas Shirdast, Behnam Davoodi, Jamal Aalaie, Pengfei Zhang, Alireza Sharif
Summary: Grafting hydrophobic alkyl moieties onto the chain backbone can reduce the hydrophilicity of the semi-flexible polysaccharide Sclg, improving its utilization as a polymeric surfactant. In this study, the influences of grafted alkyl moieties with different lengths (C6, C10, or C18) on the adsorption behaviors of the modified Sclgs on a carbonate surface were investigated using self-consistent field theory. The results provide insights into the adsorption mechanisms and contribute to the development of advanced bio-polymeric surfactants.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Anne-Chantal Gouget-Laemmel, Nacim Zidelmal, Rafaela S. B. Soares, Nadine Barroca-Aubry, Diana Dragoe, Ludovic Costa, Benedicte Lepoittevin, Hanene Salmi-Mani, Mohamed Mellah, Catherine Henry-de-Villeneuve, Francois Ozanam, Emmanuelle Schulz, Philippe Roger
Summary: This study investigates the capacity of quantitative IR-FTIR spectroscopy to characterize the surface chemical modifications occurring during a surface-initiated controlled polymerization. The effects of different surface treatments on the density and degree of polymerization of the polymer chains are demonstrated through experiments.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Santiago Rodriguez-Jimenez, Michael S. Bennington, Alireza Akbarinejad, Elliot J. Tay, Eddie Wai Chi Chan, Ziyao Wan, Abdullah M. Abudayyeh, Paul Baek, Humphrey L. C. Feltham, David Barker, Keith C. Gordon, Jadranka Travas-Sejdic, Sally Brooker
Summary: The successful covalent attachment of metal complexes onto azide-functionalized PEDOT films via CuAAC method was confirmed by various spectroscopic techniques. Conversion efficiency was higher for less crowded 1:2N(3)-PEDOT:PEDOT films compared to N-3-PEDOT films. The Raman and UV-vis-NIR results were in good agreement with theoretical simulations, showing similar behavior of the metal complexes in solution and immobilized on PEDOT films.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
