POS4-0595
Phase-Separation Kinetics in Binary Polymer Brushes via Tunable Mobile Anchors
Topic
S4. Colloids, Interfaces, and Molecular Assemblies for Functional Soft Materials
When and Where
Sep 30, 2026
08:30 - 09:30
Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)
Session Chairs
Heesuk KIM
Jinhye BAE
Presenter(s)
Maurya Manoj Kumar (DGIST)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Polymer brushes with mobile anchoring points can form adaptive interfaces, since the grafted chains are not covalently fixed and can rearrange laterally. Laterally phase-separating mixed polymer brushes have attracted considerable attention because of their potential applications in protein adsorption, drug delivery, nanotemplating, and biointerfaces, making control of their morphology central to interfacial-materials design. Using coarse-grained molecular dynamics, we study phase separation in a binary mobile brush and tune anchor mobility through the mass of the grafted anchor beads. Our results show that anchor mobility significantly affects the phase-separation kinetics. Slower anchors arrest coarsening and lock in fine, microphase-separated structures over accessible timescales, whereas lighter anchors coarsen toward macrophase separation. Domain growth is markedly height-dependent: regions near the grafting plane remain mixed or finely structured, while larger domains develop away from the surface. These results identify anchor mobility as a tunable handle for the kinetics and hence the assembled morphology of mobile binary polymer brushes.
Mixed polymer brushes with mobile anchoring points are promising adaptive interfaces, yet how the mobility of the grafting points governs their lateral phase separation remains unclear. Using coarse-grained bead-spring molecular dynamics, we tune anchor mobility in a binary mobile brush and ask how it shapes the pathway and morphology of phase separation. We find that anchor mobility sets the phase-separation kinetics: slower anchors arrest coarsening into fine microphase-separated domains, whereas faster anchors drive macrophase separation. The accessible morphology also depends on height above the substrate. These results identify anchor mobility as a simple handle for selecting the morphology of mobile polymer brushes. The talk details the dynamics and structural analyses behind this picture.
Mixed polymer brushes with mobile anchoring points are promising adaptive interfaces, yet how the mobility of the grafting points governs their lateral phase separation remains unclear. Using coarse-grained bead-spring molecular dynamics, we tune anchor mobility in a binary mobile brush and ask how it shapes the pathway and morphology of phase separation. We find that anchor mobility sets the phase-separation kinetics: slower anchors arrest coarsening into fine microphase-separated domains, whereas faster anchors drive macrophase separation. The accessible morphology also depends on height above the substrate. These results identify anchor mobility as a simple handle for selecting the morphology of mobile polymer brushes. The talk details the dynamics and structural analyses behind this picture.
