The ability to measure the nanoscale contributions of material morphology and interface chemistry to the chemical and mechanical stability of polymeric thin film materials is critically important for the design of new materials. In this study we systematically expose a polyamide network polymers with a range of interfacial chemistries to hypochlorite solutions and observe the effects of chlorine concentration and exposure time on the film structure and degradation behavior. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) is a high throughput analysis tool for thin films, which forms the evaluative basis for the study. The QCM operating mechanism allows for nanogram level sensitivity, enabling direct observation of film character changes in real time and is commonly used to assess kinetic processes at surfaces. The polyamide films were chemically and structurally characterized ex situ. Together this data was used to develop a kinetic model and morphological description of chlorine induced degradation of polyamide films. The model and experimental approach is relevant for probing polymer degradation under environmental conditions for polymers used in aqueous environments (membrane materials for example). The work here represents enhanced measurement capabilities for the rapid assessment of nanoscale degradation of material lifetime performance for polymer thin films and related technologies.

Kinetic and morphological characterization of nanoscale degradation for polymer thin films

248th National Meeting (2014)

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