Effect of Thickness on the pH Responsiveness of Strong Polyelectrolyte Brushes

Guang-Tao Mei; Yue Huang; Jian Zhang; Guang-Ming Liu

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3464-x

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Effect of Thickness on the pH Responsiveness of Strong Polyelectrolyte Brushes

RAPID COMMUNICATION | Updated：2025-12-03

- Effect of Thickness on the pH Responsiveness of Strong Polyelectrolyte Brushes
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 43, Issue 12, Pages: 2185-2190(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
  b.Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Bio-based Health Functional Fiber Materials, College of Material and Textile Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, China
- Author bio：
  
  jz09275@zjxu.edu.cn (J.Z.)
  gml@ustc.edu.cn (G.M.L.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3464-x
  CLC：
- Received：16 July 2025，
  
  Accepted：27 September 2025，
  
  Published Online：19 November 2025，
  
  Published：15 December 2025
- Accepted：
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Mei, G. T.; Huang, Y.; Zhang, J.; Liu, G. M. Effect of thickness on the pH responsiveness of strong polyelectrolyte brushes. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 2185–2190

Guang-Tao Mei, Yue Huang, Jian Zhang, et al. Effect of Thickness on the pH Responsiveness of Strong Polyelectrolyte Brushes[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2025, 43(12): 2185-2190.
Mei, G. T.; Huang, Y.; Zhang, J.; Liu, G. M. Effect of thickness on the pH responsiveness of strong polyelectrolyte brushes. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 2185–2190 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3464-x.

Guang-Tao Mei, Yue Huang, Jian Zhang, et al. Effect of Thickness on the pH Responsiveness of Strong Polyelectrolyte Brushes[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2025, 43(12): 2185-2190. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3464-x.

摘要

For strong polyelectrolyte brushes

the pH-responsive hydration and stiffness are dependent on brush thickness

and the pH-responsive adhesion and wettability are independent of brush thickness.

Abstract

Strong polyelectrolyte brushes (SPBs) play an important role in enabling material surface functionalization due to their unique stimuli-responsive properties. Although the unexpected pH responsiveness of SPBs has been revealed in the past ten years

it is still unclear if the pH-responsive properties of SPBs are affected by the brush thickness. In this study

we employed the positively charged poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethylammonium chloride (PMETAC) and negatively charged sodium poly(styrenesulfonate) (NaPSS) brushes as model systems to explore the effect of thickness on the pH-responsive properties of SPBs. The results demonstrate that the pH-responsive properties of SPBs manifest different dependences on the brush thickness. Specifically

for both PMETAC and NaPSS brushes

the pH-responsive hydration and stiffness are influenced by the thickness

and the pH-responsive wettability and adhesion are almost unaffected by the thickness. This work not only provides a clear understanding of the relationship between the brush thickness and the pH responsiveness of SPBs

but also offers a new method to control the pH-responsive properties of SPBs.

关键词

Keywords

references

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