In this work, an investigation concerning differences between covalent and physical attachment of poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) to a nanocellulose model surface was conducted. For the covalent attachment, ring-opening polymerization (ROP) was performed using the �grafting-from� approach, building the polymer from the surface. For the physical attachment, a block copolymer consisting of PCL and poly(di(methylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) was made combining ROP and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The PDMAEMA-part was then quaternized, which resulted in a charged chain � a polyelectrolyte. The charges allow for the PDMAEMA-PCL copolymer to be adsorbed onto the nanocellulose model surface. The length of the PDMAEMA-part was kept constant (DP=20), and the length of PCL was varied (DP=150, 300, 600) for both the covalently attached polymer and for the copolymer. Finally, differences between the two approaches were evaluated regarding for example surface coverage and grafting/physiosorption efficiency investigated with techniques such as atomic force microscopy.

Comparative study of covalent grafting and physical adsorption of   PCL onto cellulose

243rd National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.