INTERDIFFUSION OF FREE AND GRAFTED POLY(METHYLMETHACRYLATE) WITH POLYVINYLCHLORIDE, STUDIED BY INFRARED-SPECTROSCOPY

As a guide for adhesion development between two miscible polymers, interdiffusion of these polymers was studied using external reflection and attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy. Using gold substrates coated with a double layer of PMMA and PVC, and s-polarized infrared light, PMMA features in the external reflection spectra increase upon annealing at 150-degrees-C as a result of PMMA diffusion away from the gold substrate into regions with a higher electric field intensity. Interdiffusion can also be followed with an external reflection set-up using glass substrates and p-polarized infrared light. Interdiffusion of PVC and PMMA, free or grafted on a glass slide, was observed. Increasing the molecular weight of the PMMA slows down the interdiffusion rate, which might be a consequence of a reduction in the thermodynamic driving force for diffusion or the molecular weight of PMMA. External reflection spectroscopy as well as attenuated total reflection experiments show that interdiffusion of PVC and PMMA grafted on a silicon slide was much slower than that of free PMMA of similar molecular weight.