Eur. Phys. J. B 2, 69-74 (1998)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510050226

Microgels and fractal structures at interfaces and surfaces

Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung, Postfach 3148, 55021 Mainz, Germany

Corresponding author: ^a vilgis@mpip-mainz.mpg.de

Received: 11 August 1997
Revised: 20 November 1997
Accepted: 22 January 1998
Published online: 15 March 1998

Abstract

The behavior of microgels near surfaces and their adsorption is studied by simple scaling theory. Two different types of microgels can be studied, i.e., fractal type microgels and randomly crosslinked polymer chains. In the first case the gel can be described mainly by introducing a spectral dimension. The second type requires more attention and uses the number of crosslinks as parameter. The main result is that soft gels with weakly coupled crosslinks and a low number of crosslinks adsorb much better than hard gels, with many crosslinks. Similar results for fractal gels and branched polymer are presented. Fractal gels with low connectivity adsorb easier than gels with a large connectivity dimension. We discuss also consequences on surface protection by microgels.