Density profile in thin films of polybutadiene on silicon oxide substrates: A TOF-NR study

We have investigated thin films from fully deuterated polybutadiene (PB-d₆) on silicon substrates with the aim of detecting and characterizing a possible interphase in the polymer film near the substrate using time-of-flight neutron reflectometry (TOF-NR). As substrates, thermally oxidized silicon wafers were either used as such or they were coated with triethylethoxysilyl modified 1,2-PB prior to deposition of the PB-d₆ film. TOF-NR reveals that, for both substrates, the scattering length density (SLD) of the PB films decreases near the solid interface. The reduction of SLD is converted to an excess fraction of free volume. To further verify the existence of the interphase in PB-d₆, we attempt to model the TOF-NR curves with density profiles which do not feature an interphase. These density profiles do not describe the TOF-NR curves adequately. We conclude that, near the solid interface, an interphase having an SLD lower than the bulk of the film is present.