DYNAMICS OF POLYMER BRUSHES - WHAT CAN NEUTRON SPIN-ECHO SPECTROSCOPYCONTRIBUTE

Polymer brushes forming the outer shells of micellar aggregates of A-B diblock copolymers in a selective solvent allow for the observation o f collective relaxational motions via neutron spin-echo spectroscopy. New neutron spin-echo investigations on planar FEB-brushes on the surf ace of crystalline PE-cores of platelet-like aggregates are reported. The data are discussed in comparison to a continuum model of the brush assuming a parabolic density profile, semidilute solution scaling rel ations for the elastic properties and friction coefficient. For the pl anar brush a full 3D solution of the model is accessible. The observed scattering from an isotropic sample is compatible with the continuum model with an added static fluctuation contribution.