The Supramolecular Organization and Surface Morphology of Films of Poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne) with Different Configurational Compositions

Abstract

The structure of the films of poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne) (PTMSP) with different configurational compositions (the concentration of cis-units of 40 to 80%) is analyzed in this study. The combination of X-ray diffraction analysis and atomic force microscopy makes it possible to reveal the peculiarities of the supramolecular organization and morphology of PTMSP films. The diffraction patterns of PTMSP films indicate an increase in the ordering of the supramolecular organization in the case of an increase in the concentration of cis-units, and the value of the characteristic interchain distance in PTMSP films does not depend on the fraction of cis-units. According to the data of atomic force microscopy, the surface of PTMSP films is characterized by the presence of cluster-like formations the size of which decreases with the increase in the concentration of cis-units (from 18.3 nm for PTMSP with the concentration of the cis-units of 40% to 6.8 nm for PTMSP with the concentration of cis-units of 80%). The decrease in permeability coefficients for O2 and N2 with an increase in the concentration of cis-units in PTMSP correlates with the increase in the ordering of the supramolecular organization and decrease in cluster size. The performed study shows that the structural features of the PTMSP films may be due to the effect of both the configurational composition of macrochains and relaxation processes accompanying the formation of a film obtained by evaporation on a substrate.