CHARACTERIZATION BY ELLIPSOMETRY OF POLYMERIZED ULTRA-THIN FILMS FORMED IN A TWO-DIMENSIONAL SOLVENT ON AN OXIDE SURFACE

Surfactants adsorbed onto the surface of suspended mineral oxide particles may be used to position an ultra-thin layer of polymer on the surface of the particles. The polymer layer is formed by what may be viewed as a three-step process. First, solution parameters are varied in such a way as to induce complete coverage of the particle suface with a surfactant bilayer. Monomer introduced into the solution then partitions into the hydrophobic core of the surfactant layer. In situ polymerization is then initiated to form the polymer layer. This process was used to construct ultra-thin polymer layers on the surface of glass slides coated with a vacuum deposited aluminum layer, on which an oxide layer had been formed.