Polymer Brushes via Surface-Initiated Controlled Radical Polymerization: Synthesis, Characterization, Properties, and Applications

Polymer brushes, which are ultrathin polymer coatings consisting of polymer chains that are tethered with one chain end to an interface, prepared through surface-initiated controlled radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) was studied. A significant increase in the rate of SI-ATRP was observed for polymerizations carried out in polar and, in particular, aqueous media. SI-RATRP was successfully used by Sedjo to prepare PS and PS-b-PMMA brushes from a conventional radical azo-functionalized silica substrate using Cu IIBr2/bpy complex as deactivating agent. Surface-initiated nitroxide-mediated polymerization (SI-NMP) also represents a valuable method for the controlled fabrication of polymer brushes. The variety of polymerization techniques, postmodification strategies, and patterning methods together with the ongoing advances in each of these areas indicates that there is still plenty of room for future developments.