Surface Characteristics and Physicochemical Properties of Polystyrene-b-Poly(Acrylic Acid) Determined by Inverse Gas Chromatography

Abstract

Surface and bulk properties of polystyrene-b-poly(acrylic acid) (PS-b-PAA) were determined by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) technique. The determined surface properties were dispersive component of surface energy, \( \gamma_{\text{S}}^{\text{D}} \), Lewis acid and base constants, \( K_{\text{A}} \) and \( K_{\text{D}} \), respectively. The dispersive component of surface energy ranged from 39.9 to 20.9 mJ m−2 at a temperature range from 303 to 343 K while \( K_{\text{A}} \) and \( K_{\text{D}} \) were found to be 0.083, and 0.781, respectively, at this temperature range. The higher \( K_{\text{D}} \) than \( K_{\text{A}} \) suggested the surface of the copolymer was basic. The bulk polymer interaction parameters such as weight fraction activity coefficient, \( \varOmega_{1}^{\infty } \), Flory–Huggins interaction parameter, \( \chi_{12}^{\infty } \), equation-of-state interaction parameter, \( \chi_{12}^{ * } \), and effective exchange energy parameter, \( X_{\text{eff}} \) of PS-b-PAA were determined using the retention data of several solvents at temperatures between 413 and 453 K.