C.A. Michaels, D.B. Chase, and S.J.Stranick, "Chemical Imaging of Thin Film Polymer Blends with Near-Field IR Microscopy," Poly. Mat.Sci. and Eng. 88, 188 (2003).

Description:

The non-stick coating on a frying pan, the coat of paint on a car bumper and the multiple layers of fibers and polymers in a tire -- what keeps them together? In all three cases, it’s the interface region or interphase, the area where the molecules of two materials interact with each other.

The interphase is vital to the durability and performance of nanocomposites, particle-filled materials, paints on plastics and metals, and fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Material properties in the interphase are different from those of the bulk materials being joined together. With computer models, as well as with laboratory tests of both polymer blends and polymer films on various substrates, the scientists expect to learn how properties at or near the interphase region change with processing conditions and diverse external stresses (such as different temperatures and humidities).  Here is an example of a PVDF polymer sample a few tens of microns across after undergoing some of these tests.  Such information could help manufacturers reduce costs for products and increase their international competitiveness.

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