Polymer Brush-Based Thin Films via Cu(0)-Mediated Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization for Sensing Applications

Nanomaterial-based hybrid devices have demonstrated potential use in environmental contaminant sensing. Polymer thin films are tunable in their physicochemical properties, which makes them exploitable as functional sensing materials. For device fabrication, covalently functionalized polymer films have been explored over physically deposited layers due to their stability and have been produced via surface-initiated polymerizations as surface-grafting polymers. Specifically, surface-initiated controlled radical polymerizations (CRPs) allow the production of homogeneous organic nanothin films with tailored thicknesses. Copper-mediated CRP (CuCRP) is a rapid and facile technique to prime surface-grafting polymer films for hybrid sensor devices with improved characteristics. In this Review, we summarized the application of surface-grafting polymer-based hybrid sensor devices with an emphasis on environmental applications, and we compiled the development of CuCRP, emphasizing the discussion over its mechanism and designation and comparing it to other CRPs for the fabrication of organic thin films in sensor devices.