| Abstract: | The effects of adsorption of poly(lauryl methacrylate) (PLMA), a side‐chain crystalline polymer, on silica were investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements were made on both bulk and adsorbed PLMA. The reversible heat flow rates were observed as a function of temperature and the degree of crystallinity of the samples determined based on the broad melting transitions of the side chains in the surface samples. It was found that adsorption caused a disruption of the side‐chain crystallinity primarily in the tightly bound layer of the polymer, but did not significantly affect its glass transition temperature. A change in the packing of the hydrophobic side chains, as a result of adsorption, was also observed for the tightly adsorbed polymer. These results indicated that PLMA side chains in proximity to the silica surface have different properties from those in bulk PLMA. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 89–96 |
