Adhesion Property Profiles of Supported Thin Polymer Films

Abstract

Polymer coatings are frequently utilized to control and modify substrate properties. The performance of the coatings is often determined by the first polymer layers between the substrate and the bulk polymer material, which are termed interphase. Standard methods have failed to completely characterize this interphase, because its properties change significantly over a few nanometers. Here we determine the spatially resolved adhesion properties of the interphase in polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) by desorbing a single polymer covalently bound to an atomic force microscope cantilever tip from PEMs with varying thickness. We show that the adhesion properties of the first few layers (up to three double layers) is dominated by the surface potential of the substrate, while thicker PEMs are controlled by cohesion in between the PEM polymers. For cohesion, the local film conformation is the crucial parameter. This finding is generalized by utilizing oligoelectrolyte multilayer (OEM) as coatings and both hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers as polymeric force sensors.

Short versus long chain polyelectrolyte multilayers: a direct comparison of self-assembly and structural properties

“…Further on, the possibility of extending the investigation of multilayers to the oligomeric level may help to validate theoretical simulations on PE assembly, 46,70 for which the computational load of large macromolecules is still out of reach, or to generalize experimental results 71 to a broader range of molecular weights. In terms of applications, using different chain lengths might be a tool to control the stability of PEM membranes, e.g.…”

Pressure sensitive adhesives based on interpolymer complexes

“…Nowadays, the results of SMFS measurements establish direct correlation between surface energies of an adhesive and a substrate on the one hand, and the strength of their adhesive joint at the level of single polymer chains on the other hand. We are just beginning to understand these complex processes, which involve stretching of polymer strands, their sliding on the surface, and their subsequent debonding [339][340][341].…”

Stimuli-Responsive Polyelectrolyte Brushes As a Matrix for the Attachment of Gold Nanoparticles: The Effect of Brush Thickness on Particle Distribution

“…A home-built humidity cell was used to perform measurements at different humidities, as introduced earlier [38]. For data manipulation, the software, Ellipsometry: simulation and data evaluation (Optrel, v. 3.1), was used.…”