This investigation indicates the ability to selectively graft glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) only from the external surface of regenerated cellulose (RC) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes using activator generated electron transfer (AGET) atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). This controlled polymerization resulted in epoxy functionalized polymer brush ends. Further reaction of the terminal ep...

The surface-initiated ATRP of benzyl methacrylate, methyl methacrylate, and styrene from magnetite nanoparticle is investigated, without the use of sacrificial (free) initiator in solution. It is observed that the grafting density obtained is related to the polymerization kinetics, being higher for faster polymerizing monomer. The grafting density was found to be nearly 2 chains/nm2for the rapi...

We provide an in-depth study of pseudo-spectral numerical methods associated with modeling the self-assembly of molten mixed polymer brushes in the framework of self-consistent field theory (SCFT). SCFT of molten polymer brushes has proved numerically challenging in the past because of sharp features that arise in the self-consistent pressure field at the grafting surface due to the chain end t...

Ž . Hydroxyapatite HA -reinforced polyethylene was developed as a bone replacement material. In order to improve bonding between HA and polyethylene, and hence to increase mechanical properties of the composite, chemical treatments of HA and polyethylene were investigated and new composites manufactured. Two approaches were employed in this investigation: the use of silane-treated HA as the fil...

Most of the natural polysaccharides have been used as food and pharmaceutical excipients due to their biodegradability, biocompatibility, low cost and easy availability. Diverse approaches such as etherification, crosslinking and graft co-polymerization can be used for the chemical modification of natural polymers. Grafting process is a suitable method to add new properties to a natural polymer...

Cell colonization of synthetic polymers can be regulated by physical and chemical modifications of the polymer surface. High-density and low-density polyethylene (HDPE and LDPE) were therefore activated with Ar⁺ plasma and grafted with fibronectin (Fn) or bovine serum albumin (BSA). The water drop contact angle usually decreased on the plasma-treated samples, due to the formation of oxidized gr...

We perform molecular dynamics simulations on a bead-spring model of pure polymer grafted nanoparticles (PGNs) and of a blend of PGNs with a polymer melt to investigate the correlation between PGN design parameters (such as particle core concentration, polymer grafting density, and polymer length) and properties, such as microstructure, particle mobility, and viscous response. Constant strain-ra...

Graft polymerizations of vinyl acetate onto granular corn starch were initiated by cobalt-60 irradiation of starch-monomer-water mixtures. and ungrafted poly(vinyl acetate) was separated from the graft copolymer by benzene extraction. Conversions of monomer to polymer were quantitative at a radiation dose of 1.0 IvIrad. However, over half of the polymer was present as ungrafted poly(vinyl aceta...

In this review, we describe the latest advances in synthesis, characterization, and applications of polymer brushes. Synthetic advances towards well-defined polymer brushes, which meet criteria such as: (i) Efficient and fast grafting, (ii) Applicability on a wide range of substrates; and (iii) Precise control of surface initiator concentration and hence, chain density are discussed. On the cha...

Cationic polymers with various structures have been widely investigated in the areas of medical diagnostics and molecular biology because of their unique binding properties and capability to interact with biological molecules in complex biological environments. In this work, we report the grafting of a linear cationic polymer from an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiator bound t...