title: Molecular simulation of ultrathin polymeric films near the glass transition.
abstract: Properties such as the glass transition temperature ( T(g)) and the diffusion coefficient of ultrathin polymeric films are shown to depend on the dimensions of the system. In this work, a hard-sphere molecular dynamics methodology has been applied to simulate such systems. We investigate the influence that substrates have on the behavior of thin polymer films; we report evidence suggesting that, depending on the strength of substrate-polymer interactions, the glass transition temperature for a thin film can be significantly lower or higher than that of the bulk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Nealey
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: de Pablo