Managing Polymer Surface Structure Using Surface Active Block Copolymers in Block Copolymer Mixtures

Published

February 1, 2004

Author(s)

A Hexemer, E Sivaniah, E K. Kramer, M Xiang, X Li, Daniel A. Fischer, Christopher K. Ober

Abstract

This report describes studies of surface coatings prepared from a semifluorinated monodendron surface-active block copolymer (SABC) used in combination with a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) composed of poly(styrene-b-ethylene butylene-b-styrene). Since both the SABC and the thermoplastic elastomer have poly(styrene) blocks in common this leads to the possibility of intermixing of microphases and formation of strong interfaces. This feature is useful when preparing coatings for biological or biomedical applications as the mechanical properties of a coating can be established by a subsurface material without compromising the behavior of the surface. A goal of these studies therefore was to understand the nature and perfection of the surface formed by the combination of the SABC with the TPE. The SABC polymers were combined with thermoplastic elastomers by either blending or by formation of a bilayer film. In the former case, annealing-induced surface segregation was used to aid in low surface energy formation while in the latter case, a fluorine rich surface was formed simply by the sequence of film preparation. Several methods of surface analysis including contact angle meaurements, scanning force microscopy and near edge X-ray absorption fine structure studies were carried out to investigate the block copolymer mixtures. The elastomeric properties of the TPE are an advantage both in terms of the mechanical properties conveyed to the polymer film and because scanning force microscopy (SFM) can easily distinguish between the components in the TPE/SABC.

Citation

Journal of Polymer Science Part B-Polymer Physics

Volume

42

Issue

No. 3

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

NEXAFS, orientation, polymers, soft x-ray

Citation

Hexemer, A. , Sivaniah, E. , Kramer, E. , Xiang, M. , Li, X. , Fischer, D. and Ober, C. (2004), Managing Polymer Surface Structure Using Surface Active Block Copolymers in Block Copolymer Mixtures, Journal of Polymer Science Part B-Polymer Physics (Accessed April 19, 2024)