https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510050324
Monolayers of diblock copolymer at the air-water interface: the attractive monomer-surface case
1
Physico-chimie Curie (UMR 168 CNRS-Curie) ,
Institut Curie,
11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
2
Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
47907-1393, USA
3
Institut C. Sadron, 6 rue Boussingault, 67083 Strasbourg Cedex,
France
4
School of Physics and Astronomy, Raymond and Beverly Sackler
Faculty of Exact Sciences,
Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel
Corresponding author: a andelman@post.tau.ac.il
Received:
19
June
1997
Revised:
2
February
1998
Accepted:
11
February
1998
Published online: 15 June 1998
We have studied both experimentally and theoretically the surface pressure isotherms of copolymers of polystyrene-polyethyleneoxide (PS-PEO) at the air-water interface. The SCMF (single chain mean-field) theory provides a very good agreement with the experiments for the entire range of surface densities and is consistent with the experiments if an adsorption energy per PEO monomer at the air-water interface of about one kB T is taken. In addition, the chain density profile has been calculated for a variety of surface densities, from the dilute to the very dense ones. The SCMF approach has been complemented by a mean-field approach in the low density regime, where the PEO chains act as a two-dimensional layer. Both theoretical calculations agree with the experiments in this region.
PACS: 82.65.Dp – Thermodynamics of surfaces and interfaces
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 1998