Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2026

Preparation and Friction Force Microscopy Measurements of Immiscible, Opposing Polymer Brushes
Published on: December 24, 2014
Sum frequency generation study on the structure of water in the vicinity of an amphoteric polymer brush
Takuya Kondo1, Makoto Gemmei-Ide, Hiromi Kitano
1Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.
Abstract:
A polyampholyte brush was prepared on the surface of a quartz prism by surface-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization of methacrylic acid (MA) and 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) at a monomer ratio of 1:1. The sum frequency generation method indicated that water molecules at the amphoteric polymer brush-water interfaces were not greatly oriented in comparison with those at the surfaces of bare quartz prisms, and negatively charged PolyMA and positively charged PolyDMAEMA brushes. The small perturbation effect of an amphoteric polymer brush on the structure of vicinal water was in accordance with the tendency of aqueous solution and thin films of amphoteric polymers observed by using Raman and infrared spectroscopies, respectively.
More Related Videos
09:43Interfacial Molecular-level Structures of Polymers and Biomacromolecules Revealed via Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy
Published on: August 13, 2019
10:28Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Polymers: Molecular Weight Distribution
Water: A Bronsted-Lowry Acid and Base
Molecular Weight of Step-Growth Polymers
As the step-growth polymerization involves step-wise condensation of monomers, the molecular weight also builds up eventually. Consequently, high molecular weight polymers are obtained at the late stages of the polymerization, where 99% of monomers have been consumed.
The extent of the...
Cationic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism
Van der Waals Interactions