Analysis of the surface chemical structure of copolymers of poly(sebacic anhydride) with ricinoleic acid maleate using XPS and ToF-SIMS

X-ray photoelectron spectrocopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) have been used to characterize the surface chemist ry of copolymers of poly(sebacic anhydride) with ricinoleic acid maleate. T oF-SIMS analysis yielded fragmentation patterns consisting of ions diagnost ic of both monomers. Across the copolymer series, relative peak intensities of these diagnostic ions showed a good comparison between surface and bulk composition, in accordance with the XPS analysis. ToF-SIMS data also indic ated that these copolymers consisted of either random or block sections.