title: Graphene Oxide Monolayer as a Compatibilizer at the Polymer-Polymer Interface for Stabilizing Polymer Bilayer Films against Dewetting.
abstract: We investigate the effect of adding graphene oxide (GO) sheets at the polymer-polymer interface on the dewetting dynamics and compatibility of immiscible polymer bilayer films. GO monolayers are deposited at the poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-polystyrene (PS) interface by the Langmuir-Schaefer technique. GO monolayers are found to significantly inhibit the dewetting behavior of both PMMA films (on PS substrates) and PS films (on PMMA substrates). This can be interpreted in terms of an interfacial interaction between the GO sheets and these polymers, which is evidenced by the reduced contact angle of the dewet droplets. The favorable interaction of GO with both PS and PMMA facilitates compatibilization of the immiscible polymer bilayer films, thereby stabilizing their bilayer films against dewetting. This compatibilization effect is verified by neutron reflectivity measurements, which reveal that the addition of GO monolayers broadens the interface between PS and the deuterated PMMA films by 2.2 times over that of the bilayer in the absence of GO.
authors.affiliation: Neutron Science Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) , Daejeon 34057, South Korea.
authors.forename: Tae-Ho
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Neutron Science Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) , Daejeon 34057, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hyeri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Neutron Science Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) , Daejeon 34057, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ki-In
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nano Science and Technology, Sejong University , Seoul 05006, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jeseung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.affiliation: Department of Nano Science and Technology, Sejong University , Seoul 05006, South Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.affiliation: Neutron Science Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) , Daejeon 34057, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong-Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Neutron Science Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) , Daejeon 34057, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jaseung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koo