Surface properties of polymeric surfactants

Abstract

Polystyrenes with carboxyl end-groups (PS-COOH)and poly (tert-butyl acrylates) (PtBA) of different molar mass were synthesised by anionic polymerisation using n-butyllithium as the initiator. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) was used to calculate the molecular weight and polydispersity of these polymers. The tacticity of these polymers was determined using Carbon 13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (13C NMR). FT-IR was used to confirm the tacticity of the samples. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) was used to confirm the presence of the carboxyl end-groups. All of the films studied in this project were transferred to mica substrates using the Langmuir-Blodgett deposition method. Both single layer and multiple layer films were constructed using this technique. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to observe the surface topology of these films.

Date of Award	2001
Original language	English