Controlled growth and subsequent chemical modification of poly(glycidyl methacrylate) brushes on silicon wafers

The controlled growth of poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) and poly(GMA-co-MMA) brushes by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) in methanol/water has been demonstrated on silicon wafer surfaces. A polymerization system using copper(I) bromide, copper(II) chloride and 2,2'-dipyridyl was found to produce a nearly linear rate of growth for times of up to 4 h, giving brushes of up to 120 nm thickness. Reinitiation of these brushes to grow further PGMA demonstrated the living nature of the polymerization system. A trichlorosilane-functional initiator was used, and it was found that brushes grown from initiator layers deposited in the presence of a small amount of triethylamine were less rough and showed more linear growth with time. The reaction of the pendant epoxide group of these brushes with octylamine from solution was demonstrated.