Correlative spectroscopic imaging: XPS and FT-IR studies of PVC/PMMA polymer blends

Correlative X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) studies of the complex heterogeneous structure of 50:50 poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PVC/PMMA) polymer blends are presented. The comparable lateral resolution and parallel imaging capabilities of both techniques allow for a direct comparison of surface (XPS) and bulk (FT-IR) measurements of polymer blends. To eliminate substrate influence and Rim-to-film differences, the same areas on the polymer films are analyzed by both methods, The effect of PMMA molecular weight on surface separation and surface segregation is evaluated by using six blends with a constant PVC molecular weight: and a PMMA molecular weight varying from 75 to 2132 kDa. Imaging capabilities of both methods were used for a qualitative comparison of the heterogeneous structure of the blends, while a quantitative comparison of the bulk and surface compositions of the same areas of the samples used small-area spectroscopy from XPS and FT-IR. On the basis of the quantitative analysis, it is concluded that surface segregation of PMMA increases with increasing molecular weight. The determination of both surface and bulk properties of complex heterogeneous samples is important for a more complete understanding of the structure of complex films.