Polymer Behavior at the Air-Water Interface

This article reviews polymer behavior at the air-water interface with a focus on the Langmuir technique and spreading processes to gain insight into this interface. The influence of the solvent and the water subphase on some polymer monolayers is discussed. The surface pressure-area isotherms (pi-A) are described in terms of the chemical structure and the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance of selected polymeric systems, with an emphasis on the behavior of the specific diblock copolymer films at the air-water interface. In some cases, molecular dynamic simulation studies can be used to visualize the organization and orientation of polymers at the air-water interface and to identify the main molecular interactions involved in such processes.