Bio-Inspired Renewable Surface-Initiated Polymerization from Permanently Embedded Initiators

Tao Du; Bin Li; Xiaolong Wang; Bo Yu; Xiaowei Pei; Wilhelm T S Huck; Feng Zhou

doi:10.1002/anie.201600080

Bio-Inspired Renewable Surface-Initiated Polymerization from Permanently Embedded Initiators

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2016 Mar 18;55(13):4260-4. doi: 10.1002/anie.201600080. Epub 2016 Feb 24.

Authors

Tao Du^{1

2}, Bin Li¹, Xiaolong Wang¹, Bo Yu¹, Xiaowei Pei¹, Wilhelm T S Huck³, Feng Zhou⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
³ Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China. zhouf@licp.cas.cn.

PMID: 26915991
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201600080

Abstract

Herein, we describe a simple and robust approach to repeatedly modify surfaces with polymer brushes through surface-initiated atomic transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP), based on an initiator-embedded polystyrene sheet that does not rely on specific surface chemistries for initiator immobilization. The surface-grafted polymer brushes can be wiped away to expose fresh underlying initiator that re-initiates polymerization. This strategy provides a facile route for modification of molded or embossed surfaces, with possible applications in the preparation of fluidic devices and polymer-embedded circuits.

Keywords: bio-inspiration; patterns; polymer brushes; renewable materials; surface-initiated polymerization.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't