POLYSTYRENE-BLOCK-POLY(2-CINNAMOYLETHYL METHACRYLATE) ADSORPTION IN THE VAN DER WAALS-BUOY REGIME

Polystyrene-block-poly(2-cinnamoylethyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PCEMA) pol ymers of different asymmetric ratios, beta, and numbers, m, of CEMA un its were synthesized and characterized. In cyclopentane/THF mixtures, the polymers were adsorbed by silica mainly via the PCEMA block in the brush conformation. For samples with beta values greater than 4, thei r surface adsorption data could be well explained by the theory of Mar ques et al. for diblock adsorption from micelle solutions in the van d er Waals-buoy regime. This represents the first experimental confirmat ion of such a scaling relation. On silver surfaces, the PCEMA block wa s the main adsorbing species for samples with small beta and large m, and both the PS and PCEMA blocks adsorbed for samples with large beta and small m values. As polymer brushes are not formed from certain pol ymers, the data of polymer adsorption by silver did not follow the sca ling relation of Marques et al.