Polymer Complexation by Hydrogen Bonding at the Interface

Abstract

Polymer complexes can form in the bulk and at interfaces. Polymer complex formation in the bulk has been studied for a long time. The recently developed layer-by-layer assembly technique well realizes polymer complexation at interfaces. The layer-by-layer assembly of polymers based on Coulomb forces or hydrogen bonding is a repeated complexation process conducted at a surface. This paper reviews both single (once only) and repeatable interfacial complexation by hydrogen bonding, the available hydrogen bonding pairs for complexation, the thermodynamics and kinetics of complexation, and construction schemes.