Application of Ion Scattering Techniques to Characterize Polymer Surfaces and Interfaces
Materials Science and Engineering R 38 (2002) 107±180 Application of ion scattering techniques to characterize polymer surfaces and interfaces Russell J. Compostoa,*, Russel M. Waltersb, Jan Genzerc aLaboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6272, USA bDepartment of Chemical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6272, USA cDepartment of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7905, USA Abstract Ion beam analysis techniques, particularly elastic recoil detection (ERD) also known as forward recoil spectrometry (Frcs) has proven to be a value tool to investigate polymer surfaces and interfaces. A review of ERD, related techniques and their impact on the field of polymer science is presented. The physics of the technique is described as well as the underlying principles of the interaction of ions with matter. Methods for optimization of ERD for polymer systems are also introduced, specifically techniques to improve the depth resolution and sensitivity. Details of the experimental setup and requirements are also laid out. After a discussion of ERD, strategies for the subsequent data analysis are described. The review ends with the breakthroughs in polymer science that ERD enabled in polymer diffusion, surfaces, interfaces, critical phenomena, and polymer modification. # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ion scattering; Polymer surface; Polymer interface; Elastic recoil detection; Forward recoil spectrometry; Depth profiling 1. Introduction Breakthroughs in polymer science typically correlate with the discovery and application of new experimental tools. One of the first examples was the prediction by P.J. Flory that the single chain conformation in a dense system (i.e.
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