Free volume and density gradients of amorphous polymer surfaces as determined by use of a pulsed low-energy positron lifetime beam and PVT data

• Density gradient widths at the polymer-vacuum surfaces of poly(methyl methacrylate), styrene-co-acrylonitrile, and styrene-co-maleic anhydride were quantified to 2, 5, and 4 rim, respectively, by use of a pulsed low-energy positron lifetime beam and to approximately 1.5 nm for all three polymers on the basis of theoretical predictions from pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) data, making use of the Cahn-Hilliard theory of inhomogeneous systems in conjunction with the Sanchez-Lacombe lattice fluid theory. Excellent agreement between the two methods was found for the homopolymer, whereas for the copolymers, the former method gave larger density gradient widths, a result attributed to the surface orientation of the less polar polymer segments, which the theoretical predictions did not take into account. As has been previously proposed, the discrepancy between the depth ranges of the surface effects on density and the glass transition temperature (T-g) is suggested to result from a coupling between the dynamics of adjoining polymer segments, canceling a direct relationship between local density profile rho(z) and local T-g(z) as a function of distance z from the free surface.

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NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences (hsv//eng)

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