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Solvent‐Induced Length Variation of Cylindrical Brushes
Author(s) -
Fischer Karl,
Schmidt Manfred
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/1521-3927(20010701)22:10<787::aid-marc787>3.0.co;2-y
Subject(s) - materials science , variation (astronomy) , composite material , polymer chemistry , solvent , polymer science , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , astrophysics
Polymacromonomers with a main chain much larger than the side‐chain length adopt the form of cylindrical brush polymers the contour length per main‐chain monomer of which depends on the side‐chain length. In the present investigation it is demonstrated that the length per monomer also depends on the solvent quality, i.e., the cylinders are shorter in a poor solvent as compared to a good solvent. It is argued that the repulsion of the side chains represents the extension force, which acts against the entropic contraction force of the main chain. Thus, cylindrical brushes may be suitable as responsive materials for sensors, actuators or soft machines.