Collapse of polymer brushes with n-cluster interactions

The mechanism of self-organization of planar polymer brushes upon collapse was studied by analytical means and numerical solution of self-consistent field equations on a lattice. As an example, brushes with n-cluster interactions were considered. The effect of the initial heterogeneity of a brush was examined. The role of the critical grafting density was studied. Differences in the collapse scenario for a brush with subcritical and supercritical grafting density were revealed. The data obtained agree well with the results of studying the collapse of brushes with other additional interactions (polyelectrolytic and anisotropic brushes, as well as brushes in a binary solvent with immiscible components).