Double-hydrophilic polymer brushes: Synthesis and application for crystallization modification of calcium carbonate

A water-soluble diblock copolymer composed of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and a cylindrical poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) brush is reported. It is prepared by a 'grafting from' approach using stepwise atom transfer radical polymerization combined with group transformation. Uniform molecular brushes, PEG(113)-b-P(MA-g-PAA(26))(169), are thus prepared as indicated by atom force microscopy analysis. This PAA densely grafted polymer is used to induce the crystallization of calcium carbonate in aqueous solution. Different experimental conditions, fast mixing reactions and static diffusion methods, are applied to explore the effect of polymer brushes on the crystallization, which is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis.