Surface and Bulk Phase Separations in Block Copolymers and Their Blends.
Abstract
Surface and bulk properties have been studied in terms of composition and morphology of siloxane containing block copolymers and their blends with homopolymers. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) has been used to obtain the compositional information from the top 60 angstroms or so at the surface. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) was utilized to probe the bulk morphology. An attempt is made to compare the bulk and the surface and find possible mechanisms governing them. It is found that solvent-cast neat block copolymers have a uniform layer at the surface that is rich in siloxane whereas their bulk has a microphase-separated domain structure. In case of blends, siloxane enrichment is quite pronounced even at bulk concentrations as low as 0.05% w/w siloxane. Amount of surface siloxane as a function of bulk content is studied with the help of XPS. At the same time, the bulk morphology of these blends is studied by TEM. The changes occuring in the surface and the bulk are found to have similar patterns.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA140020
Entities
People
- D. W. Dwight
- N. M. Patel
Organizations
- Virginia Tech