title: Disubstituted polyacetylene brushes grown via surface-directed tungsten-catalyzed polymerization.
abstract: Disubstituted polyacetylene brushes were grown from modified silicon and quartz surfaces using a transition metal-catalyzed polymerization technique employing tungsten hexachloride/tetraphenyl tin (WCl6/Ph4Sn). The substrate surfaces were initially functionalized with terminal alkyne functional groups by using an alkyne-functionalized silane, O-(propagyloxy)-N-(triethoxysilylpropyl) urethane, as a surface coupling agent. Surface polymerization of 5-decyne under microwave irradiation at 150 degrees C for 30 min was performed on the functional surfaces to produce surfaces consisting of grafted poly(1,2-dibutylacetylene) brushes. The alkyne-functionalized and polymer-coated surfaces were characterized using surface contact angle measurements, film thickness measurements, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectrometer measurements were performed to analyze the surfaces at each step of the modification process. This simple technique demonstrates a novel way of synthesizing a poly(1,2-dibutylacetylene) brush layer on silicon substrate, and it has future potential in the fabrication of selectively functionalized surfaces on the nanoscale via this new synthetic approach.
authors.affiliation: Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Conte Center for Polymer Research, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA.
authors.forename: Sarav B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Jhaveri
authors.forename: Kenneth R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Carter