Surface-initiated polymerization reactions are rapidly developing as methods to prepare functional, high-tech coatings. This is a technique based on the growth of polymer molecules at the surface of a substrate (such as glass, metal, or plastic) in situ from a surface bound initiator, which results in the covalent attachment of polymer molecules to this substrate. Polymer layers in which the polymer chains are irreversibly immobilized to the substrate are especially attractive for a wide variety of applications, as these layers have excellent long-term stability, even in rather adverse environments. In addition to improved stability, the number of functional groups present at a surface can be greatly enhanced by connecting large polymer molecules with functional groups (present in each monomer repeat unit) to the surface instead of binding the functional group directly to the surface. This transition from a two-dimensional to a three-dimensional arrangement has been called the "skyscraper" approach, and allows for high densities of functional groups to be obtained in a limited area. In this talk, we will highlight recent progress our group has made in applying polymer brush coatings to study the following: light induced mechanical motion, sensors for biological arrays, antimicrobial coatings and enzymatic biofuel cells.

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