Facile approach to grafting of poly(2-oxazoline) brushes on macroscopic surfaces and applications thereof.
This study reports on a facile and versatile approach for modification of macroscopic surface via grafting of multifunctional poly(2-oxazoline) molecules in brush-like conformation. For this purpose, carboxyl-terminated poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline) molecules have been synthesized by ring-opening cationic polymerization and subsequently grafted on underlined substrates by exploiting the "grafting to" approach. A systematic variation in thickness of the grafted poly (2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline) brushes has been demonstrated. Polymer-modified surfaces have been characterized by means of a number of analytical tools including ellipsometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolate spectroscopy, attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Interestingly, poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline) molecules have been found to retain their physical properties even after grafting on macroscopic surfaces. Finally, fabricated polymer brushes have been used as platform for stabilization of inorganic nanoparticles on macroscopic surfaces.
Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., Hohe Strasse 6, 01069 Dresden, Germany. agrawal@ipfdd.de
Mukesh
M
Agrawal
Juan Carlos
JC
Rueda
Petra
P
Uhlmann
Martin
M
Müller
Frank
F
Simon
Manfred
M
Stamm