The fabrication of responsive brush films was prepared based on the Langmuir-Schaeffer (LS) surface modification technique and the subsequent surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) of n-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM). The films were prepared by spreading an insoluble solution of an amphiphilic ATRP macroinitiator at the air-water interface. During the LS monolayer deposition onto Si wafer substrates, the surface pressure was varied in order to investigate its effect on the initiator packing density. The surface bound macroinitiator ranged from a loosely (low surface pressure) to a densely (high surface pressure) packed monolayer. Surface characterizations of the before and after polymerization films were performed using ellipsometry, water contact angle goniometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Finally, wetting measurements by static water contact angle and an in-situ AFM experiment were performed to demonstrate the temperature dependence of the pNIPAM brush surface wettability and morphology, respectively.

Grafting of functional polymer brushes based on the Langmuir-Schaeffer and SI-ATRP techniques

239th National Meeting (2010)

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