Structure, bonding, and reactivity of polymer surfaces studied by means of ESCA

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Abstract
There has been a growing awareness over the past few years of the great potential of ESCA for investigating polymeric systems in general, and several recent reviews provide extensive background reading.1−3 In this article, there–fore, attention will be focused on the aspects of interest to surface scientists, in particular, the fundamental understanding of the surface chemistry and physics of polymeric surfaces which has been made possible by the application of ESCA. However, one of the most interesting aspects of ESCA which distinguishes it from most other forms of spectroscopy is the capability of studying complex applied problems at a qualitative trouble-shooting level or of carrying out fundamental investigations of relatively simple systems at a quantitative level.The importance, particularly in commercial terms, of the former category cannot be underestimated, and the technique plays a fundamental role in such widely diverse fields (to name a few) of interest to the industrialist as weathering, oxidative degradation, thermal stability, wettability, printability, permeability, adhesive bonding, triboelectric, and migration phenomena, etc. of polymeric materials. Although as noted it is possible to gain considerable insight into such areas by application of ESCA, it is clear that any definitive studies eventually require detailed quantitative studies of much simpler model systems, which provide the bridge to studies in the former category. It may be noted, however, that the analogy between academic and “real life” situations is very close compared with the typical situation in other areas of surface science where the study of small molecules chemisorbed on clean metal surfaces under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions is somewhat removed from the typical catalytic reactors used in industry. This perhaps emphasizes one of the advantages of being involved in the surface science of polymers in that the results of fundamental studies may be related relatively straightforwardly to “real world” problems and there is, therefore, a much more effective dialogue between academicians and industrialists in this area than is apparent in most others.

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