Terminally anchored polymer brushes on a semicrystalline microporous polyethylene fiber

Here, we report a general strategy for the synthesis of densely anchored po ly(glycidyl methacrylate) (poly-GMA) brushes on a chemically and physically stable polyethylene hollow fiber using an electron-beam-induced graft poly merization technique. The conformation of poly-GMA brushes is controlled by the total irradiation dose and the degree of grafting. We have demonstrate d the rational direct experimental quantification of the density and the le ngth of poly-GMA brushes by electron spin resonance measurement which overc omes the difficulty of isolating the polymer brush from its associated mate rial. The total irradiation dose will govern the density while the degree o f grafting will exclusively control the length of poly-GMA brushes.