Abstract
The adsorption of polymers to surfaces is crucial for understanding many fundamental
processes in nature. Recent experimental studies indicate that the adsorption dynamics is
dominated by non-equilibrium effects. We investigate the adsorption of a single polymer of
length N to a planar solid surface in the absence of hydrodynamic interactions. We find that for
weak adsorption energies the adsorption timescales ∼N(1+2ν)/(1+ν), where ν is the Flory
exponent for the polymer. We argue that in this regime the single chain adsorption is closely
related to a field-driven polymer translocation through narrow pores. Surprisingly, for high
adsorption energies the adsorption time becomes longer, as it scales as ∼N1+ν, which is
explained by strong stretching of the unadsorbed part of the polymer close to the adsorbing
surface. These two dynamic regimes are separated by an energy scale that is characterized by
non-equilibrium contributions during the adsorption process.
Original language | Undefined/Unknown |
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Pages (from-to) | 242101/1-242101/6 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 24 |
Publication status | Published - 2009 |