2D reflectometry for the investigation of polymer interfaces: off-specular neutron scattering

Abstract

Specular and off-specular neutron reflectometry have been used in a combined approach to study thin polymer films. Our goal in this work is to illustrate the power of the off-specular scattering technique to probe the properties of the buried interface of immiscible polymer bilayers of deuterated polystyrene (d-PS) and protonated poly(methyl methacrylate) (h-PMMA). The diffuse scattering stemming from these systems is discussed in relation to thermal fluctuations at the polymer/polymer interface, providing a means to extract in-plane correlation lengths from buried interfaces. In addition the onset of hole formation in the top layer is evidenced by the diffuse scattering, not easily detectable by specular reflection alone.

Hysteresis in phase volumes, compositions and interfacial roughness in model OPV-small-molecule/polymer thin-films

“…It is likely that this interfacial roughness consists of broadening of the interface due to molecular intermixing, 39,40,42 rather than due to larger scale lateral roughness, such as occurs for capillary waves at a liquid–liquid interface. 39,40 This is evidenced by the lack of any significant off-specular scattering 43–45 from this sample (and the other 300k PS samples; see Fig. S4_3–S4_5 and accompanying text in the ESI† for further details).…”

Progress in neutron techniques: towards improved polymer electrolyte membranes for energy devices

“…Another example is provided by the operando NR measurements of the bulk c-Si electrode where Li + transport, distribution, and concentration were monitored inside the working electrode [129]. Off-specular NR measurements can give unique insights into the micro-morphology of the active (top) layer, which is intrinsically connected to device efficiency [130,131].…”