Polymer Brushes: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Physics and Theory".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2024 | Viewed by 441
Special Issue Editor
Interests: polymers; analytical theory; computer simulations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Polymer brushes have emerged as a focal point in polymer research, addressing the demand for facile and versatile surface modifications. The advent of controlled radical polymerization from surfaces, coupled with advanced theoretical models, simulations, and characterization tools, has empowered researchers to precisely manipulate brush density and thickness, thereby exerting unprecedented control over surface properties and functionality. Elevated brush density induces a stretched brush conformation, impacting molecular interactions with the brush surface. The resulting residual stress imparts distinctive properties to polymer brushes compared to equivalent layers of coated polymer chains. Owing to these remarkable characteristics, interest in polymer brushes has developed due to their significance for applications in various fields, such as tribology, controlled drug/gene delivery, tissue engineering, imaging, and the design of stimuli-responsive materials.
Prof. Dr. Costas H. Vlahos
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- advances in the synthesis of polymer brushes, including grafting-from, grafting-to, and grafting-onto methods
- characterization of polymer brushes, including surface-sensitive techniques, spectroscopy, microscopy, and rheology
- analytical theory, Monte Carlo, and molecular dynamics simulations
- applications in materials science and biotechnology
- effects of polymer chain architecture, neutral and charged brushes, mixed brushes, surface geometry, effects of mixed solvents, electric field, pH, salt, and shear stress
