COPOLYMERS AT SELECTIVE INTERFACES

The behaviour of various types of copolymers at interfaces between two immiscible solvents A and B is investigated. The copolymers consist o f two monomer species A and B. Their distribution along the chain can be characterized by a structural correlation function Phi. Different a dsorption scenarios can be found depending on the actual realization o f Phi. While for random (weakly correlated) copolymers adsorption is c aused by the random excess of A or B monomers, for periodic copolymers it is due to a weak orientation of AB-units crossing the interface. W e also find a desorption related to the asymmetry of the copolymer and /or the interface. Different behaviours are predicted for the scaling properties and for the critical desorption temperature T-c for both ca ses. All the results are derived from a single expression for the adso rption crossover containing the correlation function Phi.