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Article

Synthesis and Characterization of Surface-Initiated Helical Polyisocyanopeptide Brushes

Eunhee Lim,^† Guoli Tu,^† Erik Schwartz,^‡ Jeroen J. L. M. Cornelissen,^‡ Alan E. Rowan,^‡ Roeland J. M. Nolte,^‡ and Wilhelm T. S. Huck*^†

Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Macromolecules, 2008, 41 (6), pp 1945–1951

DOI: 10.1021/ma702531u

Publication Date (Web): February 28, 2008

†

University of Cambridge.

‡

Radboud University.

To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wtsh2@ cam.ac.uk.

Abstract

This article describes the first surface-initiated polymerization of isocyanide monomers onto various surfaces in a controlled manner. Brushes up to 200 nm could be easily obtained within 3 h of polymerization, and the polymer growth was studied as a function of reaction time, monomer concentration, and growth conditions, using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ellipsometry. The monomers used in this study contain dipeptide (l,l-Ala−Ala) side groups; circular dichroism (CD) measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and AFM confirmed that the well-defined helical conformation was retained in the polyisocyanide brushes with hydrogen bonds along the polymer chains.

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