title: Adsorption of polyelectrolyte molecules to a nanostructured monolayer of amphiphiles.
abstract: We investigate the conformation of atactic poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) (PSS) molecules both in water-ethanol solutions and adsorbed to a template provided by a nanostructured monolayer of flat-lying octadecylamines on graphite. The conformations of the PSS molecules in these solutions undergo two conformational transitions, a re-entry transition at 40 vol % and a coil-globule conformational transition at 80 vol % ethanol. On the surface the conformations are characterized by two different length scales: on a short length scale they are defined by the template, whereas the large-scale structures reflect the conformations in solution. We conclude that the conformational transitions are discontinuous on the level of single molecules and appear continuous in the ensemble.
authors: Department of Physics, Humboldt University Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany. severni@physik.hu-berlin.de
authors: Nikolai
authors: N
authors: Severin
authors: Ivan M
authors: IM
authors: Okhapkin
authors: Alexei R
authors: AR
authors: Khokhlov
authors: Jürgen P
authors: JP
authors: Rabe