title: Self-consistent field theory of tethered polymers: one dimensional, three dimensional, strong stretching theories and the effects of excluded-volume-only interactions.
abstract: We examine end-tethered polymers in good solvents, using one- and three-dimensional self-consistent field theory, and strong stretching theories. We also discuss different tethering scenarios, namely, mobile tethers, fixed but random ones, and fixed but ordered ones, and the effects and important limitations of including only binary interactions (excluded volume terms). We find that there is a "mushroom" regime in which the layer thickness is independent of the tethering density, σ, for systems with ordered tethers, but we argue that there is no such plateau for mobile or disordered anchors, nor is there one in the 1D theory. In the other limit of brushes, all approaches predict that the layer thickness scales linearly with N. However, the σ(1/3) scaling is a result of keeping only excluded volume interactions: when the full potential is included, the dependence is faster and more complicated than σ(1/3). In fact, there does not appear to be any regime in which the layer thickness scales in the combination Nσ(1/3). We also compare the results for two different solvents with each other, and with earlier Θ solvent results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada.
authors.forename: Tongchuan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Whitmore