Surface Structures of an Amphiphilic Tri-Block Copolymer in Air and in Water Probed Using Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy

Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy has been applied to investigate surface structures of an amphiphilic surface-active block copolymer (SABC) film deposited on a CaF2 substrate, in air and in water in situ. Developed as a surface-active component of an antifouling coating for marine applications, this amphiphilic triblock copolymer contains both hydrophobic fluorinated alkyl groups as well as hydrophilic ethoxy groups. It was found that surface structures of the copolymer film in air and in water cannot be probed directly using the SFG experimental geometry we adopted because SFG signals can be contributed from the polymer/air (or polymer/water) interface as well as the buried polymer/CaF2 substrate interface. Using polymer films with varied thicknesses, structural information about the polymer surfaces in air and in water can be deduced from the detected SFG signals. With SFG, surface restructuring of this polymer has been observed in water, especially the methyl and methylene groups change orientations upon contact with water. However, the hydrophobic fluoroalkyl group was present on the surface in both air and water, and we believe that it was held near the surface in water by its neighboring ethoxy groups.