Figure 1.
Schematic description of the synthesis of cross-linked brushes and characterization. On a monolayer of mercaptoundecyl bromoisobutyrate on gold (a), (4-vinylpyridine) is polymerized to generate a surface-grafted polymer brush (b). Addition of the cross-linker PdMe or PdEt in DMSO yields a reversibly cross-linked polymer brush (c), whose lateral mechanics are probed by dragging an AFM tip across the surface (d). The figure is not to scale and does not imply a specific loading or distribution of the cross-links.