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.