The characterization
of polymer–polymer interfaces is of
great interest to understand the diffusion process and chemical interactions
in polymeric multiphase systems. This study investigated the formation
of the interface layer between polyamide (PA) and polypropylene (PP)
and its dependency on the maleic anhydride (MAH) content in PP. New
insights with a very high level of details on the formation of the
interfacial layer are obtained by employing a special technique of
atomic force microscopy (AFM) combined with infrared (IR) for chemical
imaging at nanoscale spatial resolution. This enables the determination
of the interface thickness and even the observation and visualization
of the diffusion gradient across the PA/PP interface layer. Combined
with classical investigation methods such as interfacial energy and
rheology, the method of nano-IR spectroscopy represents a very powerful
tool to obtain more insights and a deeper understanding of the interfacial
phenomenon in multiphase polymeric systems.
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