Adsorption of poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(vinyl chloride) blends onto polypyrrole: Study by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, time-of-flight static secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and inverse gas chromatography

Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were co-adsorbed onto conducting, nitrate-doped, polypyrrole (PPyNO3) from tetrahydrofuran and 1,4-dioxane. The surface composition of PPyNO3 before and following polymer adsorption was monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and time-of-flight static secondary ion mass spectroscopy which indicated that PMMA and PVC co-adsorb. However, PVC adsorption is substantially higher from 1,4-dioxane, hence a solvent effect. Inverse gas chromatography permitted to determine the dispersive contribution to the surface energy (γsd) and acid–base descriptors of the untreated and polymer blend-coated polypyrrole specimens. Whilst γsd values clearly indicate that the polymer coatings are patchy, acid–base descriptors suggest that the blend patches have a PMMA-rich surface, especially in the case of adsorption from 1,4-dioxane.