Phase separation in PS/PVME thin and thick films

Khalil El-Mabrouk; Mohamed Belaiche; Mosto Bousmina

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2006.10.051

Phase separation in PS/PVME thin and thick films

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2007 Feb 15;306(2):354-67. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2006.10.051. Epub 2006 Dec 11.

Authors

Khalil El-Mabrouk¹, Mohamed Belaiche, Mosto Bousmina

Affiliation

¹ Canada Research Chair on Polymer Physics and Nanomaterials, Department of Chemical Engineering (CREPEC), Laval University, Sainte-Foy, PQ G1K 7P4, Canada.

PMID: 17161418
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2006.10.051

Abstract

Phase separation in both thin and thick films of polystyrene (PS) and poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) was studied by small-angle laser light scattering (SALLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), optical microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Blend films with controlled thickness were obtained by spin-coating polymer-toluene solutions with various concentrations. Films with thicknesses smaller and larger than the maximum wavelength of concentration fluctuations were considered. Morphology of the blend films was characterized during and after phase separation. The obtained peculiar morphology was related to surface enrichment with the lower-surface-energy component, as was verified by XPS analyses.