Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Polymer Chain Relaxation: Surface Outpaces Bulk

Published

Author(s)

William E. Wallace, Daniel A. Fischer, K Efimenko, Wen-Li Wu, Jan Genzer

Abstract

In this work we show how carbon near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) can be applied to detect both surface and bulk segmental relaxation in uniaxially deformed polystyrene samples. We demonstrate that by simultaneously monitoring the partial electron yield (PEY, kinetic energy > 150 eV) and the fluorescence yield (FY, carbon Ka 277 eV) NEXAFS signals, with probing depths of approximately 2 and 200 nm, respectively, one can, in a single experiment, examine segmental motion throughout a polymer sample. Using this methodology, chain relaxation is found to occur almost 50% faster at the surface than in the bulk.
Citation
Macromolecules
Volume
34
Issue
No. 15

Keywords

chain relaxation, mechanical deformation, near-edge x-ray absorption fine structur, polymer, polystyrene, surface structure

Citation

Wallace, W. , Fischer, D. , Efimenko, K. , Wu, W. and Genzer, J. (2001), Polymer Chain Relaxation: Surface Outpaces Bulk, Macromolecules, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=851810 (Accessed March 29, 2024)
Created July 1, 2001, Updated February 19, 2017