Mixed poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(ethylene glycol) brushes: Study of switching behavior in selective solvent

The mixed polymer brushes composed of two incompatible polymers, poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(ethylene glycol), were successfully synthesized via a sequential grafting to method, which was confirmed by water‐contact angle and ellipsometric measurements. The resulted mixed polymer brushes could undergo conformational rearrangements upon exposure to different selective solvents, and then the lateral segregation in nonselective solvent and perpendicular segregation in selective solvent happened. As a result, the mixed polymer brushes exhibited the ripple morphology and dimple morphology in corresponding solvent, respectively, and which led to changes in water‐contact angle and surface composition as a function of bulk composition of the mixed polymer brushes. Moreover, the switching properties as the surface composition, wettability and topographical images could occur in a controlled and reversible fashion. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009