Controlled Polymer‐Brush Growth from Microliter Volumes using Sacrificial‐Anode Atom‐Transfer Radical Polymerization

Brushing up on polymers: A difference in electrochemical potential allows surface-initiated atom-transfer radical polymerization on a sandwiched metal substrate using microliter volumes. CuI activators are continuously generated and diffuse to the initiator-modified substrate (see scheme), while CuII deactivators maintain polymerization. Polymer-brush gradients of SPMA and complex shapes were produced using this method.