Universal shape ratios for polymers grafted at a flat surface

TL;DR

This paper investigates the shape characteristics of dilute polymers grafted at a surface, finding that the surface has minimal impact on their shape compared to polymers in bulk.

Contribution

It provides universal ratios of polymer shape parameters for grafted polymers, extending understanding of polymer conformations near surfaces.

Findings

Surface has little influence on polymer shape.

Shape ratios are similar to bulk polymers.

Results are universal for grafted polymers.

Abstract

We consider dilute non-adsorbed polymers grafted at an impenetrable surface and compute several quantities which characterize the polymer shape: the asphericity and the ratios of the eigenvalues of the radius-of-gyration tensor. The results are only slightly different from those obtained for polymers in the bulk, showing that the surface has little influence on the polymer shape.