High-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy of thin crystalline highly oriented films of poly(tetrafluoroethylene)

High-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) spectra of highly oriented films of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) are reported. With one exception, all peaks in the spectra correspond to IR active vibrations. They are well resolved, and with a remarkably high intensity, more than two orders of magnitude greater than we have observed on any other polymer in HREELS. The angular distributions of the elastic peak, and of the vibrational peaks are very narrow, which indicates both a well ordered system and a dipolar scattering behaviour. No evidence of amorphous regions in these films is found. A Raman active mode can be observed in off-specular geometry, using an incident electron beam coplanar with the PTFE fibers direction. This corresponds to resonance excitation of a transient negative ion state, with a maximum cross-section at an incident electron kinetic energy of about 4 eV.