title: Phase behavior and dewetting for polymer blend films studied by in situ AFM and XPS: from thin to ultrathin films.
abstract: In this work, the film thickness (l0) effect on the phase and dewetting behaviors of the blend film of poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(styrene-ran-acrylonitrile) (PMMA/SAN) has been studied by in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The thinner film shows the more compatibility of the blend, and the phase separation of the film occurs at l0>5Rg (radius of gyration). An initially time-independent q*, the characteristic wavenumber of the phase image, which is in good agreement of Cahn's linearized theory for the early stage of spinodal decomposition, has been obtained in real space and discussed in detail. For 5Rg>l0>3Rg, a "pseudo-dewetting/(phase separation+wetting)" behavior occurs, where the pseudo-wetting is driven by the concentration fluctuation mechanism. For l0<3Rg, a "real dewetting/(phase separation+wetting)" behavior occurs.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, People's Republic of China.
authors: Yonggui
authors: Y
authors: Liao
authors: Jichun
authors: J
authors: You
authors: Tongfei
authors: T
authors: Shi
authors: Lijia
authors: L
authors: An
authors: Pradip Kumar
authors: PK
authors: Dutta