%0 journal article
%@ 0743-7463
%A Zorn, E., Knaack, J.I.H., Burmeister, N., Scharnagl, N., Rohnke, M., Wicha, S.G., Maison, W.

%D 2023
%J Langmuir
%N 31
%P 11063-11072 
%R doi:doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c01366
%T Contact-Biocide TiO2 Surfaces by Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization with Chemically Stable Phosphonate Initiators
%U https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c01366
31 
%X Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) is a powerful tool for grafting functional polymers from metal surfaces. It depends on the immobilization of suitable initiators on the surface before radical polymerization. Herein, we report a set of bifunctional initiators bearing a phosphonic acid group for surface binding and a bromoisobutyramide moiety for SI-ATRP. We have analyzed the impact of the connecting alkyl spacers on the grafting process of (vinylbenzyl)trimethylammonium chloride (VBTAC) from titanium as a base material. The thickness of the grafted polymer increased with the spacer length of the initiator. We obtained chemically stable polycationic surfaces with high charge densities of ∼1016 N+/cm2 leading to efficient contact activity of modified titanium coupons against S. aureus. Notably, SI-ATRP grafting was efficient with VBTAC as a styrene-derived ammonium compound. Thus, the reported protocol avoids post-grafting quaternization with toxic alkylating reagents.