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Anchoring of Liquid Crystals on Surface‐Initiated Polymeric Brushes
Author(s) -
Gu Yuedong,
Nederberg Fredric,
Kånge Rikard,
Shah Rahul R.,
Hawker Craig J.,
Möller Michael,
Hedrick James L.,
Abbott Nicholas L.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
chemphyschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1439-7641
pISSN - 1439-4235
DOI - 10.1002/1439-7641(20020517)3:5<448::aid-cphc448>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - anchoring , nanometre , materials science , polymerization , liquid crystal , nanotechnology , texture (cosmology) , thin film , nanoscopic scale , chemical engineering , composite material , polymer chemistry , polymer , optoelectronics , image (mathematics) , structural engineering , artificial intelligence , computer science , engineering
Brushes of poly( ε ‐caprolactone) are grown by ring‐opening polymerization from initiators immobilized on gold surfaces with nanometer‐scale topography. Control of the thicknesses of the brushes can be exploited to tune the effect of the underlying nanometer‐scale topography on the orientations of supported liquid crystals. Patterned brushes are prepared and imaged by using liquid crystals; thin brushes have an uniform optical texture (graphic, above) but over a critical thickness the anchoring becomes nonuniform (below).