Effect of annealing on self-organized gradient film obtained from poly(3-[tris(trimethylsilyloxy)silyl] propyl methacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate)/poly(methyl methacrylate-co-n-butyl acrylate) blend latexes

Abstract

The effect of annealing on the self-organized morphology and component gradient distribution of films prepared from bimodal latexes blend containing 1:1 siliconcontaining acrylate copolymer/silicon-free acrylate copolymer blend was studied using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with X-ray energy-dispersive (SEM-EDX) spectrometry, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The distribution of silicon through the whole thickness of the film as a function of annealing was investigated using confocal Raman spectroscopy (CRS). AFM results show that poly(methyl methacrylate-co-n-butyl acrylate) latex fuses to form a continuous film at 25°C. The wettability of the acrylate components and the heterogeneous composition of poly(3-[tris(trimethylsilyloxy)silyl] propyl methacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate) result in a graded block film. ATR-FTIR and SEM-EDX measurements reveal silicon-containing components segregate at the film-air interface upon annealing. CRS further shows that the nonlinear model gradient distribution of silicon is obtained, where the content of silicon component is enhanced and it gradually varies in the bulk. When the annealing temperature increases to 120 and 180°C, blend latexes films demonstrate varying topography and phase images, indicating phase separation is induced by annealing. Furthermore, CRS implies that the destruction of the gradient structure is attributed to the phase separation of the two blend components.

Facile Synthesis of Mono-Dispersed Polystyrene (PS)/Ag Composite Microspheres via Modified Chemical Reduction

“…Based on the in situ self-catalytic synthesis method, changing the concentration of the [Ag(NH 3 ) 2 ] + ions can control the size and coating status of Ag NPs [23]. Figure 6 shows the FESEM images of a series of PS/Ag composites fabricated using different concentrations of [Ag(NH 3 ) 2 ] + ions ( 0.06 M, 0.12 M, 0.18 M and 0.24 M ).…”

Organosilane Chemical Gradients: Progress, Properties, and Promise

“…Synthetic gradients are often expected to exhibit continuous property variation. However, the multicomponent organosilane mixtures employed in our work are not always fully miscible, and phase separation , can lead to gradients incorporating discrete domains that vary in size and composition. Careful characterization of gradient materials over a range of length scales is therefore required to verify that the desired gradient has been obtained and to ensure that its properties are fully understood.…”

Photo‐responsive block copolymer containing azobenzene group: Synthesis by reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization and characterization

“…In the past few years, there has been ample literature on the preparation of block polymers. Most of these materials were synthesized using controlled radical polymerization . Compared with other controlled radical polymerization techniques, RAFT technique is the most versatile as it exhibits a high degree of compatibility with a wide range of functional monomers.…”