QUANTITATIVE INFRARED-SPECTROSCOPY OF POLYSTYRENE BLOCK COPOLYMER ADSORBED ON MICA

A general method using infrared spectroscopy has been developed which can quantitatively measure monolayers of adsorbed polymers on mica. By use of a dual beam Fourier transform infrared spectrometer the detection limit can be improved to the point where it is possible to rapidly obtain infrared spectra of adsorbed polymers. The technique uses thin mica sheets and a transmission-reflectance device to eliminate optical interference fringes which otherwise dominate the spectrum and mask the infrared bands due to adsorbed polymers. Quantitative data are presented for the adsorption of a block copolymer of poly(ethylene oxide-b-styrene) on mica.