Article contents
Molecular Weight Dependence of the Surface Glass Transition of Polystyrene Films Investigated by the Embedding of Gold Nanoclusters
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 March 2011
Abstract
We probed the glass transition temperature Tg at the surface of polystyrene (PS) samples with different molecular weights by embedding of gold nanoclusters. The embedding of the nano-clusters was monitored by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The onset embedding temperature determined by XPS was taken as a measure for the Tg at the surface. We observed a small decrease of Tg at the surface relative to the bulk for all molecular weights (ΔTg= 2.5- 8.5 K). This decrease is small for short chains (MW = 3.6 kg/mol) and grows to a saturation for MW ≥ 44 kg/mol (ΔTg ≍ 8 K). This is in accord with the smaller relative increase in the number of degrees of freedom between bulk and surface for shorter chains.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © Materials Research Society 2002
References
REFERENCES
- 1
- Cited by