We designed surface-active poly(tert-butyl acrylate-co-styrene) brush additives for polystyrene films. The brush additives accumulate at the top and bottom of the film during casting and remain segregated at both interfaces through subsequent thermal annealing. Thermal annealing activates a deprotection reaction that converts t-butyl acrylate to acrylic acid, which switches the wettability of the top surface from hydrophobic to hydrophilic and improves adhesion of the film to the silicon substrate. Although poly(acrylic acid) is high-energy compared with polystyrene, the polymer brush additives remain at the film surface during thermal annealing. This work demonstrates a method to tailor surface chemistry by using a combination of energetic and entropic effects to drive additives toward interfaces, followed by post-deposition processing to tailor surface composition.<br/>

Hydrophilic tuning of polystyrene film surfaces using surface-active macromolecular brush (SAMB) additives

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.