The conformation of polymers at interface profoundly influences the interfacial properties. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) is a newly developed technique to detect polymer behavior at interface in real time. In this article, we mainly review our QCM-D studies. Our focus is on temperature induced collapse and swelling of tethered polymer chains, pancake-to-brush transition ...

Hydrogels are increasingly used in a variety of biomedical applications1-3 owing to their many advantageous features. Physical properties of hydrogels formed from cross-linking between polymer chains are regulated with the cross-linking density, type of crosslinking molecules, and chemistry and molecular weight of polymer chains. It is believed that the spatial conformation and organization of ...

Polymer-coated surfaces are routinely used in industrially important applications including prevention of biofouling (in fabrication of protein-resistant surfaces), improving stability of colloidal dispersions, surface lubrication, or enhancing wettability and adhesion. Polymer chains chemically bound to the surface represent a special class of polymer coatings that has gained considerable atte...

We explore the phase behaviour, solution conformation, and interfacial properties of bottlebrush polymers with side-chains comprised of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAM), a thermally responsive polymer that exhibits a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in water. PNIPAAM bottlebrush polymers with controlled side-chain length and side-chain end-group structure are prepared using a "gr...

Single molecule confocal fluorescence microscopy was used to perform photoluminescence spectroscopy on single, isolated molecules of the conjugated polymer poly[2-methoxy, 5-(2'-ethyl-hexyloxy)-p-phenylene-vinylene] (MEH-PPV). We show that the fluorescence from single chains of this electroluminescent polymer depends strongly on chain conformation. The time evolution of the spectra, emission in...

The review focuses on responsive/switching behavior of polymer brushes. The structure of the polymer brushes is analyzed in terms of the constitution and conformation of polymer chains. Responsive properties are widely discussed based on phase transition mechanisms in a controlled environment when changes are induced by solvent quality, temperature, concentration of ions, and interactions with ...