We study the weak interaction between polymers and oppositely charged surfactants and its effect on the lubricating behavior and wettability of polymer brushcovered surfaces. For cationic (PMETAC) and anionic (PSPMA) brushes, a gradual transition from ultralow friction to ultrahigh friction was observed upon adding oppositely charged surfactant as a result of the electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between surfactant and polymer. The surfactant exchange led to a strong dehydration of the brush and a concomitant increase in friction. Upon adding surfactant above the CMC, we find a reduction in friction for the anionic brushes, while the cationic brushes maintain a high friction. This difference between the two lubrication systems suggests a different interaction mechanism between the polymers and the surfactants. For zwitterionic (PSBMA) and neutral (POEGMA) polymer brushes, where electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions could be negligible, there is nearly no surfactant uptake and also no effect of surfactant on lubrication.
■ INTRODUCTIONHuman joints show an ultralow friction coefficient (0.001− 0.01) for typical pressures of ∼5 MPa at human hips or knees, which is mainly attributed to the adaptability of elastic articular cartilage and the brush-like structure of water-soluble macromolecules in synovial fluids. 1,2 Surface grafted polymer brushes in aqueous media can simulate the lubrication of synovial joints by taking advantage of the ultralow friction coefficient and good biocompatibility of polymer brushes. It has been previously observed that neutral or charged polymer brushes can serve as good boundary lubricants due to the combination of high hydration of the polymer brushes leading to resistance to compression and a fluid-like response to shear. 3−10 Their frictional behavior is influenced by various factors, such as monomer structure, polymer architecture, chain length, grafting density, solvent quality, and charges on the polymer chains. 11,12 Besides the excellent water lubrication performance, polymer brushes also provide an ideal platform for building intelligent surfaces because of their inherent responsive behavior to external stimuli, which can induce a swelling−collapse transition of the grafted chains, resulting in dynamic changes in interfacial properties, such as wettability, 13,14 anti-icing, 15 and lubricating properties. 16 Previous work has mainly focused on conformational changes (and resulting changes in wettability and friction) in response to electrochemical potential, 17 pH, 18 solvent, 19,20 and counterions. 13,15,21−23 Based on the responsive smart polymeric surfaces, ion-pairing interaction is a common and versatile approach to achieve tunable wettability and friction. Recent work in our group has shown that the friction of polyelectrolyte brush covered surfaces can be tuned from superior lubrication (μ ∼ 10 −3 ) to ultrahigh friction (μ > 1) via exchanging counterions. 16 The interaction between polymers and surfactants is an interesting phenomenon that has been widely ...