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Self‐Assembly of Arborescent Polystyrene‐ graft ‐Poly(ethylene oxide) Copolymers at the Air/Water Interface
Author(s) -
Njikang Gabriel N.,
Cao Lan,
Gauthier Mario
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.200700619
Subject(s) - copolymer , monolayer , polystyrene , ethylene oxide , polymer chemistry , materials science , langmuir , molecule , chemical engineering , oxide , self assembly , ribbon , chemistry , polymer , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , composite material , adsorption , engineering , metallurgy
AFM imaging was used to investigate the influence of molecular structure and composition on the formation of Langmuir monolayers by arborescent PS‐ graft‐ PEO copolymers at the air/water interface. Even without compression, these molecules associate spontaneously at the air/water interface and form stable monolayers that are easily transferred onto solid substrates as Langmuir/Blodgett films. The copolymers either form aggregates with a low association level, large island‐like clusters, or ribbon‐like superstructures. The different behaviors of the copolymers are rationalized in terms of the influence of their composition and of the structure of the arborescent PS cores on the assembly process.