Effect of Interfacial Adsorption on the Stability of Thin Polymer Films in a Solvent-induced Process

The stability of ultrathin polymer films plays a crucial role in their technological applications. Here, we systematically investigated the influence of interfacial adsorption in physical aging and the stability of thin polymer films in the solvent-induced process. We further identify the stability mechanism from the theory of thin film stability. Our results show that the aging temperature and film thickness can strongly influence the stability of thin PS films in acetone vapor. Physical aging can greatly improve the stability of thin polymer films when the aging temperatureT(aging1)>T-g. A thinner PS film more quickly reaches a stable stateviaphysical aging. At short aging time, the formation of the adsorbed layer can reduce the polar interaction; however, it slightly influences the stability of thin polymer films in the solvent-induced process. At later aging stage, the conformational rearrangement of the polymer chains induced by the interfacial effect at the aging temperatureT(aging1)plays an important role in stabilizing the thin polymer films. However, atT(aging2)

Automated summary

The study systematically investigates the stability of thin polymer films in solvent-induced process and finds that aging temperature and film thickness strongly influence their stability. Physical aging and interfacial effects are crucial in stabilizing thin polymer films.