Ellipsometry was used to estimate the interface thickness 2 between two bulk layers of dissimilar polymers, poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly (styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN), as a function of annealing time t above the glass transition temperature Tg. The value of 2 was estimated to be around 20 nm at an early stage of annealing and increased with time, e.g. up to 60 nm at 130°C after 12 h for a miscible pair such as PMMA and SAN-25 (AN content = 25 wt%), while it remained constant for an immiscible system such as PMMA/SAN-5, even after long annealing for more than 12 h. For miscible systems, the mutual diffusion coefficient D was obtained from the slope of the 2 vs. t 1/2 plot according to the Brochard theory: 2 = 2(Dr) 1/2. The D value was found to be roughly proportional to the thermodynamic driving force IZ - gel, as has also been predicted by Brochard (Z and Zc being the Flory interaction parameter at the annealing temperature and at the critical point, respectively). The molecular-weight dependence of D was found to follow the 'slow theory'. Further, to analyse the adhesion development, the results for 2(t) were combined with the time variation of adhesive strength a(t) observed by Fowler et al. It was found that the late stage could be described well by the reptation theory, tr oc 21/2, while the adhesive strength tr of a thin interface at an early stage was much higher than the theoretical value
Посилання на статтю:
Ellipsometric studies on mutual diffusion and adhesion development at polymer-polymer interfaces / Satoshi Yukioka*, Kahori Nagato and Takashi Inoue // Polymer. – 1992. – Vol 33. – P. 1171-1176.