Effect of Fluorination on Friction Forces between Concentrated Polymer Brushes in the Dry State: All-atom Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study

We investigated the effect of fluorination on friction forces between polymer brushes in the dry state by means of an all-atom molecular dynamics simulation. An all-fluorinated brush produced less friction force than a non-fluorinated brush. In addition, a brush in which only the six monomers at the tips of the polymers were fluorinated produced a friction force comparable with that produced by the all-fluorinated brush. Fluorination was found to reduce the friction force by reducing entanglement between the brushes.