Abstract
The penetration of a polymeric brush into a cross-linked elastomer (chemically identical to the brush) is discussed theoretically, using a self-consistent mean field theory. The details of the microscopic interfacial structure of the system (thickness of the brush, free energy, profiles of elastomer and grafted chain volume fractions, distribution of free chain ends, and interdigitation length of the brush into the elastomer) are obtained. These results allow one to calculate the adhesion energy between a brush and an elastomer and to revisit the model of Brochard-Wyart et al. [J. Phys. Chem. 1993, 98, 9405]. The predictions of the new model are compared with some recent experimental reports (Creton et al. Macromolecules 1994 , 27, 3174).
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