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Updated: Oct 23, 2026

Investigating Single Molecule Adhesion by Atomic Force Spectroscopy
Published on: February 27, 2015
Conformational properties and the entropic barrier in the "head-on" adsorption of a single polymer chain towards a
Yanwei Wang1, Xin Shu, Jiaping Liu
1State Key Laboratory of High Performance Civil Engineering Materials (HPCEM), Jiangsu Sobute New Materials Co. Ltd, Nanjing 211103, Jiangsu, China. wangyanwei@cnjsjk.cn qpran@cnjsjk.cn.
Abstract:
This work investigates the change in conformations and the entropic free energy barrier in the "head-on" adsorption process of a flexible polymer chain towards a flat surface in the framework of the Gaussian chain model. Analytical expressions are reported for the distribution of chain end, the mean square end-to-end distance, the entropic free energy barrier and the adsorption equilibrium constant at low surface coverage (the "mushroom" regime). Theoretical results are discussed in the context of polyoxyethylene-phosphonate-type polymer dispersants, possessing a non-adsorbing polyoxyethylene chain and an adsorbing head-group.
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