Polymer Brushes: New Developments and Perspectives in Experiment, Theory and Applications

The Polymer Brushes Conference 2021 will take place from 11 to 13 October 2021 as a web-based conference organised by the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden e. V.
Polymer brushes composed of macromolecules grafted to a substrate represent a unique way to modify surface properties such as lubrication, tack, and adhesion. Typically, a thin polymer layer is obtained in the range of several ten to hundred nanometers for synthetic polymers and up to micrometers for biopolymers. Due to the unique feature of long flexible polymers, which combine liquid- and solid-state properties, such brush-layers form surface-bound liquid phases composed of the polymer and solvent, and may contain cosolvents, cosolutes, counter-ions and salt-ions and other molecules.
Challenges for ongoing and future research are the understanding of the roles of chain architecture, chemical sequences, electrostatic interactions, volume phase transitions induced by solvent mixtures, the step from macroscopic flat substrates to other geometries and non-equilibrium properties of brushes.
Topics:

  • Stimuli-responsive and switchable brushes
  • Phase transitions in polymer brushes
  • The role of polymer architecture
  • Applications of brushes in technology and in biological environments
  • Chemistry and physical chemistry of polymer brushes
  • The role of geometry and molecular brushes

October, 11 to 13, 2021 – Virtual Meeting
Abstract Submission Deadline: 16.08.2021
Early Registration Deadline: 13.09.2021
Registration
Flyer Polymer Brushes Conference
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