Figure 9. Schematics of bond interconversion.

For opposite curved surfaces separated by a distance D, bridging loops can exist only in the central region of the gap provided the distance between the anchoring ring and the ending caps is smaller than while bridging single strands may exist up to separations . When the two opposite surfaces are separated from the minimal separation D^min set after brush compression, one extremity of a bridging loop will detach as soon as the distance between its anchoring ring and one of its extremity becomes larger than ; in this namely ‘interconversion zone' this former bridging loop has been transformed into a new single strand. In this schematic all the other STLs of the brush, which are not bridging the two opposite surfaces, have not been represented for clarity.