Degradation of Poly (Acrylates Under SF5+ Primary Ion Bombardment Studied Using Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry 1. Effect of Main Chain and Pendant Methyl Groups

Published

October 16, 2008

Author(s)

M S. Wagner

Abstract

Polyatomic primary ions have been recently applied to the depth profiling of organic materials by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Polyatomic primary ions offer low penetration depth and high damage removal rates in some polymers, but the effect of the chemistry of the polymer on its degradation under polyatomic primary ion bombardment has not yet been systematically studied. In this study, positive and negative ion time-of-flight SIMS (ToF-SIMS) was used to measure the damage of 100 nm thick spin-cast poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA, poly(methyl acrylate), PMA, and poly(methacrylic acid), PMAA, films under extended ( 2 x 1014 ions/cm2) 5 keV SF5+ bombardment. These polymers were compared to determine the effect of the main chain and pendant methyl groups on their degradation under SF5+ bombardment. The sputter rate of PMMA was approximately twice that of PMA or PMAA and the rate of damage accumulation was higher for PMA and PMAA than PMMA, suggesting that the main chain and pendant methyl groups played an important role in the degradation of these polymers under SF5+ bombardment. These results are consistent with the literature on the thermal and radiation-induced degradation of these polymers, which show that the removal of the main chain or pendant methyl groups reduce the rate of depolymerization and increase the rate of intra- or intermolecular cross-linking.

Citation

Surface and Interface Analysis

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

depth profile, poly(acrylate), polymer, SF₅⁺, ToF-SIMS

Citation

Wagner, M. (2008), Degradation of Poly (Acrylates Under SF₅⁺ Primary Ion Bombardment Studied Using Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry 1. Effect of Main Chain and Pendant Methyl Groups, Surface and Interface Analysis (Accessed December 4, 2024)