IN-SITU FLUORESCENCE EXPERIMENTS FOR REAL-TIME MONITORING OF ANNEALEDHIGH-T LATEX FILM DISSOLUTION

A new technique, based on steady-state fluorescence measurements, is i ntroduced for studying dissolution of polymer films. These films are f ormed from naphthalene and pyrene labeled poly(methyl methacrylate) (P MMA) latex particles, sterically stabilized by polyisobutylene. Diffus ion of solvent (chloroform) into the annealed latex film was followed by desorption of polymer chains. Annealing was performed above T-g at various temperatures for 30-min time intervals. Desorption of pyrene l abeled PMMA chains was monitored in real time by the pyrene fluorescen ce intensity change. Desorption coefficients were found to be between 1 and 4 x 10(-10) cm(2)/s and two different dissolution mechanisms wer e detected. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.