A covalent-chemistry approach to giant macromolecules and their wetting behavior on solid substrates

Abstract

Hair raising! Poly(methyl methacrylate) chains grown on a dendronized polymer (denpol) having repeat units with terminal 2-bromoisobutyramide groups produce a hairy surface. When adsorbed on mica, MoS2, and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, the hairy denpol molecules have a quasi two dimensional backbone conformation. The 50-nm-long hairs bend back on the MoS2 (see image) and graphite substrates.