| AVS 55th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Surface Science | Thursday Sessions |
| Session SS-ThP |
| Session: | Poster Session |
| Presenter: | H. Yuan, University of Chicago |
| Authors: | H. Yuan, University of Chicago D.R. Killelea, University of Chicago S. Tepavcevic, University of Chicago S.J. Sibener, University of Chicago |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The degradation and modification of polymeric surfaces by irradiation, oxygen plasmas and other reactive species have dramatic effect on their physical and chemical behavior. A molecular-level understanding of reactions at the polymer surface is necessary to guide further development of polymers in a wide range of fields, from microelectronics to aerospace. Here, we present the results of a study of photodegradation and oxidation of a model polymeric film. We exposed a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film to vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation and a collimated supersonic beam of O(3P) oxygen atoms. In separate experiments, we directly measured the mass loss of the film with a quartz-crystal microbalance (QCM) and identify the chemical changes in the PMMA film using in situ infrared spectroscopy. Previous work was limited by the necessity of removing the sample from vacuum for IR analysis; our new in situ IR system lifts this limitation and permits much greater time-resolution in our studies of the polymer modification process. Our analysis has determined the kinetics of the reactions of PMMA with VUV and atomic oxygen, and we have investigated how exposing PMMA films to both atomic oxygen and VUV light alters the polymer properties. We have also found that exposure of the polymer to these two reagents simultaneously results in kinetics that differ from the two individual effects.