Spontaneous polymerization at the air-water interface: a Brewster angle microscopy study

When a dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DODA) monolayer is spread onto a styrene sulfonate (SSt) aqueous solution, this monomer undergoes a spontaneous polymerization process Fichet, O; Teyssié, D. Macromolecules 2002, 35, 5352]. However, the polymer synthesized in this monolayer cannot be investigated by classical characterization techniques. Brewster angle microscopy has thus been used as a complementary method in order to study this spontaneous polymerization. From these measurements, the threshold concentration above which the spontaneous polymerization occurs has been determined more precisely; the monomer adsorption under the DODA monolayer has been evidenced as being very fast, as supposed previously; moreover, sodium bicarbonate is confirmed as an inhibitor of the polymerization. Also, the replacement of SSt by toluene sulfonate (TSt) confirms the SSt spontaneous polymerization. Finally, the molecular weight and/or the structure of the polymer synthesized in the monolayer seems to be different from those synthesized in solution.