Aggregation and Surface Morphology of a Poly(ethylene oxide)-<i>b</i><i>lock</i>-polystyrene Three-Arm Star Polymer at the Air/Water Interface Studied by AFM

Abstract

The behavior of a three-arm star amphiphilic copolymer, PEO3-b-PSD3 were investigated at the air/water interface through atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of the monolayer on mica. The Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films were prepared on the KSV 5000 system with a platinum Wilhelmy plate. The PEO3-b-PS3 three arm star used were prepared by the anionic polymerization of ethylene oxide followed by the ATRP synthesis of styrene. It was assumed that the characteristics of the monolayer at the air/water interface remained unchanged upon transfer to the mica surface.