Polymers at interfaces: from a quasi self similar adsorbed layer to a quasi brush first order phase tansition

Abstract

We discuss the adsorption of polymer chains, where all monomers are weakly attracted by the surface, except an endgroup which is strongly attracted by the surface. The equilibrium structure of the adsorbed layer is described using scaling arguments. This structure is intermediate between a self similar adsorbed layer and a brush. A first order phase transition is predicted from a quasi-self similar adsorbed layer to as quasi brush regime. The model is compared with some recent experimental results