The microstructure of confined and thin polymer films
type: CreativeWork
description: Polymers find wide application in biology and medical research. They can simulate the properties of some bio-composites, which are included into the cell structure of all living organisms. The application of polymers as building materials of membranes has pushed forward the investigation of polymer thin films and multilayers. Moreover, polymers are of big importance in microelectronic and coating industry. With the development of high-flux neutron and X-ray sources, surface and interface scattering methods became feasible techniques for structure studies. Due to the experimental difficulties a successful setup for scattering experiments on confined films with thicknesses of about a few hundreds of Angstroms is still not available. The development of an experimental setup that can confine liquid ultra thin films and simultaneously allows X-ray reflectivity and diffuse scattering measurements was attempted in the frame of this work. The thesis is organized as follows: After a short overview of previous literature data and results, the reflectivity theory is summarized. The experimental part is divided into two sections: The first deals with the time averaged dynamics of supported polymer thin films and the second with confined liquid and polymer films. In the first part the influence of thermally induced fluctuations on the polymer surface stucture depending on the film thickness, the molecular mass and the temperature is studied. The surface structure is probed by X-ray reflectivity and diffuse scattering measurements. In the second part a new setup for confined soft matter films is introduced. It was tested with liquid films of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (OMSTS). Additionaly, results of test experiments on confined polymers are presented. Polystyrene thin films have been studied depending on the molecular mass, film thickness, temperature and the hydrophobisites of the substrate. The diffuse scattering X-ray data have been refined u…
abstract: Polymers find wide application in biology and medical research. They can simulate the properties of some bio-composites, which are included into the cell structure of all living organisms. The application of polymers as building materials of membranes has pushed forward the investigation of polymer thin films and multilayers. Moreover, polymers are of big importance in microelectronic and coating industry. With the development of high-flux neutron and X-ray sources, surface and interface scattering methods became feasible techniques for structure studies. Due to the experimental difficulties a successful setup for scattering experiments on confined films with thicknesses of about a few hundreds of Angstroms is still not available. The development of an experimental setup that can confine liquid ultra thin films and simultaneously allows X-ray reflectivity and diffuse scattering measurements was attempted in the frame of this work. The thesis is organized as follows: After a short overview of previous literature data and results, the reflectivity theory is summarized. The experimental part is divided into two sections: The first deals with the time averaged dynamics of supported polymer thin films and the second with confined liquid and polymer films. In the first part the influence of thermally induced fluctuations on the polymer surface stucture depending on the film thickness, the molecular mass and the temperature is studied. The surface structure is probed by X-ray reflectivity and diffuse scattering measurements. In the second part a new setup for confined soft matter films is introduced. It was tested with liquid films of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (OMSTS). Additionaly, results of test experiments on confined polymers are presented. Polystyrene thin films have been studied depending on the molecular mass, film thickness, temperature and the hydrophobisites of the substrate. The diffuse scattering X-ray data have been refined u…
author: Lippmann, Milena
language: eng
keywords: info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/530, Physik, Hamburg, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Polymerfilm, Dünne Schicht, Polymere Flüssigkeit, synchrotron radiation, polymer, thin film, confined liquids
date published: 2005
date modified: 2026-07-30T19:43:02Z
provider: RWTH Aachen University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University