Abstract
Thread-like chains of flexible polymers that adsorb to a solid surface assume a flat ‘pancake’ conformation1 when the surface coverage is low and are only able to diffuse in two dimensions because so many segments are adsorbed. Here we show that the centre-of-mass diffusion coefficient of the polymer chain, measured at dilute coverage to ensure minimal chain–chain interaction, has a strong power-law dependence on the degree of polymerization. This nonlinear dependence of polymer diffusion on a solid surface contrasts with the linear dependence observed on a fluid membrane2.
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Sukhishvili, S., Chen, Y., Müller, J. et al. Diffusion of a polymer ‘pancake’. Nature 406, 146 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35018166
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35018166
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