Structure and Dynamics of an Insoluble End Grafted Polymer at the Air/Water Interface
Abstract
Insoluble monolayers of Perfluoropoly(oxypropylene) with a hydrophilic head group F[(CF_2)_3O]_n(CF_2)_2COOH (DSH) are investigated at the air/water interface by means of X-ray reflectivity. The anchor density of the grafted polymers is varied by a factor of 3.5. The hydrophobic part of the film can be described as a homogeneous layer exhibiting at the polymer/water interface a different roughness than at the polymer/air interface. The volume of the repeat units is constant up to lateral pressures of 30mN/m. The density of the incompressible chains is found to be comparable to the bulk density down to film thicknesses of 30ÅThe roughness of the polymer/air interface is constant within the experimental error and can be explained by a simple capillary wave model in agreement with the surface tension of the bulk polymer. The latter finding is equivalent to a decoupling of the dynamical behaviour of both surfaces.
- Publication:
-
APS March Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- March 1996
- Bibcode:
- 1996APS..MAR..I708B