Molecular composition, grafting density and film area affect the swelling-induced Au-S bond breakage.

In previous studies, we reported the first observation of the Au–S bond breakage induced mechanically by the swelling of the surface-tethered weak polyelectrolyte brushes in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), a phenomenon with broad applications in the fields of biosensors and functional surfaces. In this study, three factors, namely the molecular composition, grafting density and film area of the weak polyelectrolyte, carboxylated poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate-random-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(OEGMA-r-HEMA)), were studied systematically on how they affected the swelling-induced Au–S bond breakage (ABB). The results showed that, first, the swelling-induced ABB is applicable to a range of molecular compositions and grafting densities; but the critical thickness (Tcritical,dry) varied with both of the two factors. An analysis on the swelling ratio further revealed that the difference in the Tcritical,dry arose from the difference in the swelling ability. A film needed to swell to ∼250 nm to...