title: Aging of thin polymer films cast from a near-theta solvent.
abstract: We have examined the aging behavior of spin-cast thin polymer films as a function of their processing history. Films prepared from solutions close to the Θ temperature were aged for varying times at room temperature, followed by a dewetting experiment above the glass transition temperature of the polymer. The characteristic aging time varied strongly with the quality of the solvent, which is attributed to distorted chain conformations in the as-cast films. This is an indication for the nonequilibrium nature of thin polymer films, possibly causing some of their unexplained properties.
authors.affiliation: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Physikalisches Institut, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raegen
authors.forename: Mithun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Calers
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmatulla
authors.forename: Ullrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Steiner
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reiter