Abstract

We present self-consistent field theory targeted to describe the equilibrium structure of self-assembled solvent-free planar brushes formed by regularly branched polymeric ’surfactants' that adsorb ’head’-on from a polymer melt. By using numerical and analytical approaches we examine how the width of a melt-brush interpenetration zone depends on the surfactant architecture. We demonstrate that the macrocyclization of the surfactant molecules leads to the smallest brush-melt interpenetration compared to linear and starlike variants. Theoretical predictions are compared to results of computer simulations and experiments.

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