STRUCTURE OF POLYMER-CHAINS END-GRAFTED ON AN INTERACTING SURFACE

We use Monte Carlo simulation methods to study the structure of many polymer chains end-grafted on a flat interacting surface. We consider both attractive and repulsive interactions between the grafting surface and the monomers. We also study the effect of short-range and long-range surface interactions. In all cases, the density profiles of the grafted polymer layer obtained from Monte Carlo studies are in good agreement with various recent self-consistent-field calculations. For repulsive potential wells we find the presence of a definite exclusion zone from which the free ends of the chains are repelled. This result is in excellent agreement with the theoretical prediction.