Block copolymer adsorption from a homopolymer melt to an amine-terminated surface

Abstract

Using neutron reflectometry, the adsorption of diblock copolymers from a neutral polystyrene (PS) matrix is studied as a function of substrate type and non-adsorbing block degree of polymerization. The block copolymer is poly(deutero styrene)-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) and the substrates are silicon oxide, SiOx, and SiOx functionalized with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES). We have determined the equilibrium volume fraction-depth profiles for such films, and compared them with volume fraction profiles generated by self-consistent mean-field (SCMF) theory and find good agreement between the experimental and theoretical data. SCMF calculations show that the segmental interaction energy between PS matrix chains and APTES is two orders of magnitude stronger than that between PS and SiOx. © EDP Sciences/Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2005.