KINETICS AND STRUCTURE OF IRREVERSIBLY ADSORBED POLYMER LAYERS

The kinetics of formation and the structure of an adsorbed layer forme d by homopolymer chains irreversibly adsorbed onto a flat wall are stu died by Monto Carlo simulation using the bond fluctuation model. The r apid initial adsorption is followed by slow kinetics at later times. T he surface coverage can be described by an empirical law of stretched exponential approach to the final value. The formation time constant t au can be interpreted by scaling theories of diffusion inside a dense pseudo-brush. The detailed structure of the layer in a good solvent sa turated by the adsorbed chains is also measured. The extension of the layer and the distributions of the loops and tails are also analyzed i n light of recent scaling theories. (C) 1996 American Institute of Phy sics.