Title: Compression of Polymer Brushes Under a Lateral Force
Abstract: Abstract Summary: The influence of a lateral force (or lateral shear) acting on chains in a polymer brush is investigated theoretically. Brushes consisting of chains with temperature dependent anisotropic interactions between monomers (main‐chain mesogenic groups) are considered. It is shown that a lateral force applied to polymer brush induces its compression. In contrast to a conventional brush, the compression of brush, capable of forming a liquid crystalline (LC) state, can be caused by comparatively small shear forces. Moreover, such shear forces can induce a phase transition of a brush into the tilted LC state with a several‐fold decrease in brush thickness. These results allow us to predict a possibility to observe a decrease in brush thickness in a real experiment with reasonably values of shear rate. Model of a chain in a polymer brush under an influence of lateral force p . image Model of a chain in a polymer brush under an influence of lateral force p .
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-08-16
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 9
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