ADSORPTION-KINETICS OF AN ASYMMETRIC DIBLOCK COPOLYMER - A SURFACE FORCES APPARATUS STUDY

We investigate the formation of ultrathin layers of a diblock copolyme r-polystyrene (PS)/poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP)-adsorbed from a dilute solution by means of a surface forces apparatus. A simple model, that takes into account the thickness of the P2VP layer and the osmotic pr essure within the PS layer, is used to analyze the force-distance curv es. An absolute value of surface coverage is determined by comparison with AFM measurements. The volume fraction of P2VP in the anchoring la yer is calculated and does not display noticeable change with the incu bation time. In addition, the surface coverage variation with the incu bation time is compared with theoretical models.