Coil-globule type transitions in polymers. 1. Collapse of layers of grafted polymer chains

Abstract

The mean-field analytical theory describing the conformational transition related to the collapse of the layers of polymer chains grafted onto the impermeable surfaces of different morphologies (a planar surface, a sphere, and a cylinder) has been developed. The dependence of the character of this transition on the type of the surface morphology is analyzed. Analytical expressions describing the distribution of monomer units density and chain ends along the layer height at arbitrary solvent strength are obtained