There is currently intense interest in polymeric materials that can provide protection against chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals.  It is widely accepted that the surface of these polymers will be the first point of contact for any threat agent and is therefore the optimal location to decontaminate or neutralize toxic chemicals, impede sorption into the material, and to limit outgassing or penetration through the material. To enable the systematic design of polymeric materials with enhanced chemical resistance or self-decontaminating properties, it is essential to understand their nanoscale surface structure.  To increase this understanding, we employ surface sensitive vibrational sum frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopy to study polymeric surfaces exposed to various chemical environments. Here we present data that elucidates surface structure and interactions at polymer/vapor interfaces, revealing how polymer surfaces change in response to adsorption of vapor phase molecules, including chemical warfare agent simulants.

Vibrational sum frequency analysis of protective polymer material surfaces

244th National Meeting (2012)

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