Polymer Brushes on Planar TiO_2 Substrates

摘要

A facile and universal method is presented for the preparation of polymer brushes on amorphous TiO_2 film. Homogeneous and stable poly(methyl methacrylate), polystyrene, poly(4-vinylpyridine), and poly(N -vinyl imidazole) (PNVI) brushes up to 550 nm are directly created onto TiO_2 via UV-induced photopolymerization of corresponding monomers. Kinetic studies reveal a linear increase in thickness with the polymerization time. Characterization of the resulting polymer brushes by FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact angle, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) indicates an efficient UV-grafting reaction. Finally, we have demonstrated the possibility in converting the PNVI brushes to poly(vinyl imidazolium bromide), i.e., poly(ionic liquid) brushes by polymer-analogous reactions.