Modeling of Bottle-Brush Polymer Adsorption onto Mica and Silica Surfaces

Abstract

The adsorption of a series of charged bottle-brush polymers with side chains of constant length on mica and silica surfaces is modeled using a lattice mean-field theory, and the predicted results are compared to corresponding experimental data. The bottle-brush polymers are modeled as being composed of two types of main-chain segments: charged segments and uncharged segments with an attached side chain. The composition variable X denotes the percentage of charged main-chain segments and ranges from X = 0 (uncharged bottle-brush polymer) to X = 100 (linear polyelectrolyte). The mica-like surface possesses a constant negative surface charge density and no special affinity, whereas the silica-like surface has a constant negative surface potential and a positive affinity for the side chains of the bottle-brush polymers. The model is able to reproduce a number of salient experimental features characterizing the adsorption of the bottle-brush polymers for the full range of the composition variable X on the two surfaces, and thereby quantifying the different nature of the two surfaces with respect to electrostatic properties and nonelectrostatic affinity for the polymer. In particular, the surface excess displays a maximum at X ≈ 50 for the mica surface and at X ≈ 10 for the silica surface. Moreover, the thickest adsorbed layer is obtained at X = 10−25.