Fabrication and Characterization of Polystyrene Surface with Atomic-Scale Surface Roughness

Abstract

A new approach for fabrication of polystyrene (PS) surface with atomic-scale surface roughness is presented. The obtained surface structure was investigated using X-ray reflectivity (XR) measurements in the temperature range between room temperature and 104°C which is close to the glass transition temperature T_g of bulk PS. At room temperature before heating, the specular XR profiles revealed a broad peak at q_z = 0.04 Å^-1. The XR at q_z = 0.04 Å^-1 increased with increasing temperature and showed an inflection point at ca. 65°C. After cooling back to room temperature, thermal reversibility was evident in XR at q_z = 0.04 Å^-1. The thermally reversible XR observed in the present study would be peculiar to the surface of PS with infinite thickness. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2012.591]