Title: Changes in the structure of tethered chain molecules as predicted by density functional approach
Author(s):

	M. Borówko (Department for the Modelling of Physico-Chemical Processes, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 20031 Lublin, Poland ) ,
	A. Patrykiejew (Department for the Modelling of Physico-Chemical Processes, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 20031 Lublin, Poland ) ,
	O. Pizio (Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, 04360, México, D.F., México) ,
	S. Sokołowski (Department for the Modelling of Physico-Chemical Processes, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 20031 Lublin, Poland )

We use a version of the density functional theory to study the changes in the height of the tethered layer of chains built of jointed spherical segments with the change of the length and surface density of chains. For the model in which the interactions between segments and solvent molecules are the same as between solvent molecules we have discovered two effects that have not been observed in previous studies. Under certain conditions and for low surface concentrations of the chains, the height of the pinned layer may attain a minimum. Moreover, for some systems we observe that when the temperature increases, the height of the layer of chains may decrease.

Key words: brush, adsorption, density functional theory, scaling
PACS: 68.47.Mn, 61.25.H-, 68.47.Pe, 82.35.Gh

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