Ядерна фізика та енергетика Nuclear Physics and Atomic Energy   ISSN: 1818-331X (Print), 2074-0565 (Online)   Publisher: Institute for Nuclear Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine   Languages: Ukrainian, English   Periodicity: 4 times per year   Open access peer reviewed journal

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O. P. Artykulnyi^1,2,*, M. M. Avdeev², Ye. M. Kosiachkin^1,2,3, V. I. Petrenko^4,5, I. Safarik⁶, L. A. Bulavin<sup>1

1</sup> Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
² Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia
³ Institute for Scintillation Materials, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine
⁴ BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, 48940 Leioa, Spain
⁵ Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
⁶ Department of Nanobiotechnology, Biology Centre, ISB, CAS, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic

^*Corresponding author. E-mail address: artykulnyi@gmail.com

Abstract: A polymer brush system of a neutral polymer poly (ethylene glycol) with a molecular weight of M_w = 20 kDa on silicon substrates in an aqueous medium was studied by the specular neutron reflectometry. Structural changes in the density profile of a polymer brush caused by the interaction of polymer chains with micelles of the anionic surfactant dodecylbenzenesulfonate acid were observed. The effect is shown to be related to the formation of molecular polymer-micelle associates in the bulk of the solution, which was previously studied by small-angle neutron scattering in a wide range of surfactant concentrations at various molecular weights of the polymer. The density of the dry polymer layer on the silicon substrate was additionally characterized by X-ray reflectometry and scanning atomic force microscopy.

Keywords: micelles, anionic surfactants, poly (ethylene glycol), neutron reflectometry, polymer brush, small-angle neutron scattering.

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