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Quantitative Chemical Analysis of Sub-Micron Phase Segregation In Polyurethane Polymers by Soft X-Ray Spectromicroscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

A.P. Hitchcock
Affiliation:
BIMR, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4M1, Canada
S.G. Urquhart
Affiliation:
BIMR, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4M1, Canada
E.G. Rightor
Affiliation:
Dow Chemical, B-1470 2301, N. Brazosport Blvd., Freeport, TX77541
W. Lidy
Affiliation:
Dow Chemical, B-1470 2301, N. Brazosport Blvd., Freeport, TX77541
H. Ade
Affiliation:
Dept. of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC27895
A.P Smith
Affiliation:
Dept. of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC27895
T. Warwick
Affiliation:
Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley Lab, Berkeley, CA, 94720
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Extract

Phase segregation is important in determining the physical and chemical properties of many complex polymers, including polyurethanes. Achieving a better understanding of the connections between formulation chemistry, the chemical nature of segregated phases, and the physical properties of the resulting polymer, has the potential to greatly advance the development of improved polyurethane materials. However, the sub-micron size of segregated features precludes their chemical analysis by most existing methods. Near edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy carried out with sub micron spatial resolution provides one of the few suitable means for quantitative chemical analysis (speciation) of individual segregated phases. We have used the NSLS and ALS scanning transmission x-ray microscopes (STXM) to record images and spectra of both model and real polyurethane polymers. Relative to energy loss spectroscopy in a transmission electron microscope, STXM has remarkable advantages with regard to a much lower radiation damage rates and much higher spectral resolution (∼0.1 eV at the C ls edge), with a spatial resolution (∼0.1 μm) adequate for many real world problems in polymer analysis.

Type
Quantitative Biological and Materials Microanalysis by Electrons and X-Rays
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 1997

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References

Rightor, E.G., Hitchcock, A.P., Ade, H., Leapman, R.D., Urquhart, S.G., Smith, A.P., Mitchell, G.E., Shin, H.J., Warwick, T., J. Phys. Chem, 1997, in press.Google Scholar
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