Local viscosity and density in the interphase of polymers near a solid interface - fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and neutron reflectometry

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Christine M. Papadakis
• Subject Area: Experimental and Theoretical Physics of Polymers
• Term: from 2008 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 67253803

In the second funding period, the goal of the project is to gain more detailed information on the influence of the substrate properties on the polymer interphase and to investigate the role of residual solvent. We wish to continue to study the mass density and the tracer diffusivity in the polymer interphase, which are accessible using time-of-flight neutron reflectometry and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy with total internal reflection illumination (TIR-FCS). Moreover, we wish to investigate the lateral chain conformations by means of grazing-incidence small-angle neutron scattering. Methodological developments to be addressed are the increase of the surface sensitivity of surface plasmon resonance / optical waveguide spectroscopy and the optimization of the TIR-FCS setup.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1369: Polymer Solid Contacts: Interfaces and Interphases