Thin supported polymer films: Modified mobility at the interfaces

ORAL

Abstract

Using a nanostructured electrode arrangement that effectively offers two different interfaces to the thin polymer layers under study, Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS) is employed to characterize interfacial dynamics in thin supported poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) films. By analyzing the dielectric loss peak due to the dynamic glass transition, it is demonstrated that although the mean relaxation times for thin films remain bulk-like, there are indeed layers at the polymer/substrate and polymer/air interfaces that exhibit modified mobility in dependence on both overall film thickness and temperature. Preliminary molecular dynamics simulations corroborate these findings.

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Presenters

  • Emmanuel Mapesa

    University of Tennessee, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Authors

  • Emmanuel Mapesa

    University of Tennessee, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

  • Nobahar Shahidi

    Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

  • Emmanouil Doxastakis

    Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

  • Joshua Sangoro

    Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, University of Tennessee, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville