Hyperbranched polyglycidol on Si/SiO2 surfaces via surface-initiated polymerization

We demonstrate a new procedure to synthesize covalently linked hyperbranched polyglycidol brushes on Si/SiO2 surfaces via anionic ring-opening multibranching polymerization of glycidol at 110 degreesC. Optimization of the polymerization experiments by exploiting reinitiation cycles produced polyglycidol brushes with ellipsometric thickness values of up to 70 nm. C-13 NMR spectroscopy analysis of cleaved polymer allowed the elucidation of the structure and degree of branching of the polymer.