Polymer Brush Formation Assisted by the Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Topological Supramolecules

The development of methods for the polymer brush layer formation on material surfaces to improve the surface properties has been researched for decades. Here, we report a novel approach for the formation of a polymer brush layer on materials and the alteration of the surface properties using a pseudo-polyrotaxane nanosheet (PPRNS). In the PPRNS, β-cyclodextrin (CD) selectively covered the central poly(propylene oxide)₂₉ segment of the carboxyl-terminated poly(ethylene oxide)₇₅-b-poly(propylene oxide)₂₉-b-poly(ethylene oxide)₇₅ (COOH-EO₇₅PO₂₉EO₇₅) triblock copolymer to form columnar crystals. The EO chains of COOH-EO₇₅PO₂₉EO₇₅ then adopt polymer brush conformations and exhibit an oil-repellent property on the material surfaces. Based on the flexibility derived from the nanosheet structure, the PPRNS showed high adhesion to the Blu-ray disk substrate (1D bending), polystyrene spherical beads (2D bending), and random rough surface of pork skin. The PPRNS is expected to become a new method for obtaining polymer brush layers and improving the surface properties irrespective of the material type.