Paper Number
IR15 

Session
Interfacial Rheology

Title
From liquid monolayers to buckled elastic sheets: Polymers at the water/air interface

Presentation Date and Time
October 10, 2022 (Monday) 4:45

Track / Room
Track 5 / Sheraton 2

Authors (Click on name to view author profile)

1. Gottlieb, Moshe (Ben Gurion University, Chemical Engineering)
2. Ashkenazi, Daniel (Ben Gurion University, Chemical Engineering)

Author and Affiliation Lines (in printed abstract book)
Moshe Gottlieb and Daniel Ashkenazi
Chemical Engineering, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva 8410501, Israel

Speaker / Presenter 
Gottlieb, Moshe

Keywords
experimental methods; interfacial rheology; surfactants

Text of Abstract
The morphology adopted by polymer chains deposited on the air/water interface varies considerably between different polymer types. These variations are manifested by their rheological, mechanical, and thermodynamic properties. Gaining understanding of the way these films are formed, the shape, integrity and resilience of these films, and their properties at the different stages of film formation, polymer concentration, and film thickness is relevant to applications such as coating and encapsulation. We have examined by different techniques the morphology and rheology of a large number of homopolymers at different levels of surface coverage and film thickness. Experimental methods included Brewster angle microscopy, neutron reflectivity, interfacial shear and dilatational rheometry, and interfacial surface pressure measurements. We will discuss the correlation between the chemistry-dependent anchoring strength of the polymer to the aqueous subphase, polymer backbone rigidity (Tg), interfacial rheological characteristics, interfacial morphology, and the shape of surface pressure isotherms.