Browsing by Author "John H. van Zanten, Committee Co-Chair"

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    Synthesis and Characterization of Surface-confined Responsive Polyelectrolyte Brushes
    (2006-05-17) Stone, Jason Lee; Jan Genzer, Committee Chair; John H. van Zanten, Committee Co-Chair; Orlando J. Rojas, Committee Member; Saad A. Khan, Committee Member
    Polyelectrolytes contain either acidic or basic monomeric units along their backbones. When the repeat units are weak acids or weak bases, the degree of ionization will depend on the solution pH. In addition to pH, the amount of charge on the macromolecule can be fine-tuned by varying the concentration of salt in the solution. We synthesize surface-grafted weak polyelectrolytes (polyelectrolyte brushes) and explore how their physico-chemical characteristics (most notably the brush height) depend on molecular weight, composition, solution pH, and ionic strength. In addition, we explore how one can utilize pH-dependent chain swelling in the fabrication of stimuli-responsive macromolecular switches and valves.