Premium
Facile Synthesis of Free‐Standing Polymer Brush Films Based on a Colorless Polydopamine Thin Layer
Author(s) -
Kohri Michinari,
Shinoda Yoshihiro,
Kohma Hiroto,
Nannichi Yuri,
Yamauchi Mitsuaki,
Yagai Shiki,
Kojima Takashi,
Taniguchi Tatsuo,
Kishikawa Keiki
Publication year - 2013
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/marc.201300395
Subject(s) - brush , polymer brush , atom transfer radical polymerization , materials science , polymer , methacrylate , layer (electronics) , polymer chemistry , methyl methacrylate , chemical engineering , thin film , polymerization , composite material , nanotechnology , engineering
A free‐standing polymer brush film with tailored thicknesses based on a colorless polydopamine (PDA) thin layer is prepared and characterized. The surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) is performed on a PDA layer with thickness of ca. 6 nm, which generated an optically transparent and colorless free‐standing PHEMA brush film (1.5 cm × 1.5 cm). Because the cross‐linked PDA layer is used as the base for the polymer brushes, the reported method does not require cross‐linking the polymer brushes. The free‐standing film thicknesses of ≈16–75 nm are controlled by simply changing the ATRP reaction time. The results show that the free‐standing PHEMA brush film transferred onto a plate exhibits a relatively smooth surface and is stable in any solvent.