Measurements of dynamic interactions in thin films of polymer melts: The transition from simple to complex behavior

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Abstract
Two techniques are described for measuring the shear viscosities of thin liquid films confined between two surfaces. Both techniques employ the surface forces apparatus, which has already been used extensively to measure the static interactions between surfaces in liquids. With either of the new dynamic techniques, shear viscosities of the confined liquids can be measured as a function of film thickness with a precision of about 0.1 nm (1 Å). The techniques complement each other: one is used to best advantage at high shear rates, the other at low shear rates. Results are presented for measurements made on low‐molecular‐weight polymer melts of polybutadienes. At low shear rates, these results provide detailed information on the relation between polymer molecular weight, the conformation of polymer molecules at the surfaces, the intermolecular forces between the surfaces, and the location of the shear plane (plane of no‐slip). At high shear rates, the results suggest the gradual evolution of non‐Newtonian behavior in submicron liquid films.