Lishchuk, S, Ettelaie, R orcid.org/0000-0002-6970-4650 and Annable, T (2017) On the structural polydispersity of random copolymers adsorbed at interfaces: comparison of surface and bulk distributions. Molecular Physics, 115 (9-12). pp. 1343-1351. ISSN 0026-8976
Abstract
Synthesis of random copolymers leads to a structurally polydispersed distribution of polymer chains, where one of the constituent monomers prefers residing on the interface, while the others have a tendency for remaining in the bulk. Previous studies have demonstrated the very strong dependence of the level of adsorption with the degree of blockiness and number of adsorbing residues of the chains. Using self-consistent field calculations, we obtain the distribution of the adsorbed copolymers and compare this with the bulk distribution of such chains. In our study, the whole range of structurally polydisperse chains in the distribution derived for a given random copolymer are simultaneously present and can compete with each other for adsorption. We show that the distribution of chains on the surface is grossly different to that in the bulk and is largely dominated by those rare chains at the tail end of the latter distribution.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017, Taylor & Francis. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Molecular Physics on 02 Mar 2017 available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00268976.2017.1292369. |
Keywords: | Random copolymers; competitive adsorption; compositional distribution; self-consistent field |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Food Science and Nutrition (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 07 Mar 2017 11:10 |
Last Modified: | 03 Mar 2018 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/00268976.2017.1292369 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:113154 |