Journal
ACS MACRO LETTERS
Volume 7, Issue 12, Pages 1455-1460Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.8b00847
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Funding
- Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Ambizione Programme [PZ00P2-790 148156]
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While topology effects by cyclic polymers in solution and melts are well-known, their translation into the interfacial properties of polymer brushes provides new opportunities to impart enhanced surface lubricity and biopassivity to inorganic surfaces, above and beyond that expected for linear analogues of identical composition. The impact of polymer topology on the nanotribological and protein-resistance properties of polymer brushes is revealed by studying linear and cyclic poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEOXA) grafts presenting a broad range of surface densities and while shearing them alternatively against an identical brush or a bare inorganic surface. The intramolecular constraints introduced by the cyclization provide a valuable increment in both steric stabilization and load-bearing capacity for cyclic brushes. Moreover, the intrinsic absence of chain ends within cyclic adsorbates hinders interpenetration between opposing brushes, as they are slid over each other, leading to a reduction in the friction coefficient (mu) at higher pressures, a phenomenon not observed for linear grafts. The application of cyclic polymers for the modification of inorganic surfaces generates films that outperform both the nanotribological and biopassive properties of linear brushes, significantly expanding the design possibilities for synthetic biointerfaces.
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