Interaction and dynamics of polymer solutions at the air/liquid interface by laser light scattering

Abstract

The viscoelastic property of the underlying polymer solution is shown to have an effect on the propagating behavior of surface modes. The propagation of the surface modes is affected by the interaction of the capillary wave and the viscoelastic response of the underlying liquid. The surface laser light scattering (SLLS) spectrum of the viscoelastic liquid is shown to exhibit in general a two-peak structure. A central peak appears as the solution viscoelasticity increases. It is shown that in the viscoelastic regime, the capillary wave component is suppressed by the increase of the surface dilational modulus. However, the effect of the dilational modulus is not pronounced in solutions with a large amplitude of shear modulus, despite the fact that in the same type of viscoelastic solutions, the decrease in the surface tension gives rise to an effect.