Annealing Temperature Dependence of the Nanosized Pits on Poly(methyl methacrylate) Surface

We report the annealing-temperature-dependent evolution of nanosized pits on a poly(methyl methacrylate) film spin-coated on a glass substrate. The pits are formed on the polymer surface as the toluene solvent evaporates rapidly. The depth and width of the pits are measured by atomic force microscop...

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Published inJapanese Journal of Applied Physics Vol. 52; no. 12; pp. 125501 - 125501-3
Main Authors Wu, Ruixiang, Chen, Ruiyun, Gao, Yan, Zhang, Guofeng, Xiao, Liantuan, Jia, Suotang
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published The Japan Society of Applied Physics 01.12.2013
Subjects
Ambient temperature
Annealing
Evaporation
Evolution
Nanostructure
Pits
Polymethyl methacrylates
Toluene
Vibration
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Summary:We report the annealing-temperature-dependent evolution of nanosized pits on a poly(methyl methacrylate) film spin-coated on a glass substrate. The pits are formed on the polymer surface as the toluene solvent evaporates rapidly. The depth and width of the pits are measured by atomic force microscopy after the film is annealed at ambient temperature, below and above the glass transition temperature (105 °C) of the polymer, respectively. Compared with the statistical results obtained at ambient temperature, the pits are shallow and narrow on the film annealed at 75 °C as molecular vibration expands the film. However, it is found that the pits are deeper and wider on the film annealed at 120 °C than on the films annealed at the other two temperatures, which results from the evaporation of the inner residual toluene in the polymer film.
Bibliography:(Color online) (a) 2D image of the surface topography of PMMA film prepared using 10.35% solution and annealed at ambient temperature, measured by AFM. (b) The profile of the pit in (a) indicated by the black bar. The depth and width of the pit are 15.9 and 147.9 nm, respectively. (Color online) Distributions of (a--c) depth and (d--f) width of nanosized pits on PMMA films prepared using 2.26% solution and annealed at ambient temperature, 75 °C, and 120 °C, respectively. Data in the inset show the most probable value of depth ($D$) or width ($W$) and the linewidth ($\mathit{Lw}$) of their Gaussian fitting shown as red lines. (Color online) Evolution model for the pits on PMMA films annealed at (a) ambient temperature (dot line), 75 °C (solid line), and (b) 120 °C. In (a), green arrows indicate the thermal expansion of the polymer film resulting in a shallower and narrower pit. The green circles in (b) show the evaporation of the inner residual toluene solvent forming a deeper and wider pit.
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ISSN:0021-4922
1347-4065
DOI:10.7567/JJAP.52.125501