Abstract.
We have used ellipsometry to measure the glass transition temperature T g of high molecular weight (M w =790 × 103), freely-standing films of atactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (a-PMMA), as well as films of the same polymer supported on two different substrates: the native oxide layer of silicon (Si) and gold-covered Si. We observe linear reductions in T g with decreasing film thickness h for the freely-standing PMMA films with 30 nm <h<100 nm, which is qualitatively similar to previous results obtained for freely-standing polystyrene (PS) films. However the magnitude of the T g reductions for PMMA is much less than for freely-standing films of PS of comparable molecular weight and thickness. We also find that for films supported on either substrate, with thicknesses as small as 30 nm, the T g values do not deviate substantially from the value measured for thick films.
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Roth, C., Dutcher, J. Glass transition temperature of freely-standing films of atactic poly(methyl methacrylate). Eur. Phys. J. E 12 (Suppl 1), 103–107 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjed/e2003-01-024-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjed/e2003-01-024-2