Thickness of the soft layer on glassy polystyrene surfaces

The flow behavior of the near-surface region of polystyrene films was studied via the decay kinetics of imprinted corrugation gratings at elevated temperatures. The speed of the decay is the result of a balance between surface tension, on the one hand, and viscous drag, on the other. Depth profiling is possible because the penetration depth of a surface wave is proportional to its wavelength. From the dependence of the decay rate on the penetration depth one concludes that the surface region displays an increased molecular mobility. The soft surface layer has a thickness of about 20 nm. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 3031–3036, 2006     

Preparation and photoinduced isomerization study of a homopolymer and a copolymer based on 4′‐(6‐acryloxy)hexyloxy‐4‐methoxyazobenzene and acrylic acid

The synthesis and characterization of a copolymer based on 4′‐(6‐acryloxy)hexyloxy‐4‐methoxyazobenzene (MAB6) and acrylic acid (AA) are reported. A reaction was carried out by free‐radical polymerization, yielding an MAB6 homopolymer and an AA–MAB6 copolymer with an MAB6 concentration of 16–80%. A nematic phase was observed in the copolymer when the MAB6 content was 44% or higher. Both nematic and smectic phases were observed in the MAB6 homopolymer. All of the polymers were investigated for trans–cis–trans isomerization in a solid film. The samples were irradiated with nonpolarized ultraviolet light (385 nm) before absorption measurements were taken with an ultraviolet–visible spectrometer. The copolymer and homopolymer exhibited a thermal cis–trans isomerization, which could be described by a double‐exponential relaxation process (fast and slow). The relaxation experiment suggested that the hydrogen bonding may have hindered the slow process but had no effect on the fast process. A film of a copolymer sample with a high MAB6 content could be optically aligned by the exposure of the sample to polarized light (385 nm). © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 4017–4024, 2003     

Controlled heterocoagulation of platelets and spheres

We report the controlled heterocoagulation of platelets and spheres, leading to the formation of colloidally stable, anisotropic hybrid particles. Anionically charged, nanosized polymer latex spherical particles were heterocoagulated on the surface of cationically charged hexagonal gibbsite platelets via the adsorption of a single layer of spheres onto both sides of the hexagonal platelets. The latex particles were annealed at a temperature above the Tg of the latex polymer, resulting in a thin polymer layer covering the gibbsite platelets. This heterocoagulation approach enabled the encapsulation of hydrophilic inorganic particles with polymer latexes and the formation of anisotropic hybrid particles.