SIMPLE INTEGRAL-EQUATION FOR THE POLYMER BRUSH

Employing a self-consistent mean field theory approach, we consider th e density profile of a polymer brush. We express the self-consistent e quation in terms of the monomer density and, by considering only a res tricted set of polymer trajectories, reduce it to a relatively simple integral equation for the density profile. We find rather good agreeme nt between the solution of our equation and that of the original one o ver almost the whole profile range. In particular, the profile reprodu ces well the smooth decay of the monomer density at the free surface o f the brush and in this regard is an improvement over the classical pa rabolic profile.