Dynamic Surface Properties of Copolymers of Styrene and Hydrophobized 4-Vinylbenzyl Chloride at an Air–Water Interface

Kinetic dependences have been determined for the surface tension, dilatational dynamic surface elasticity, and ellipsometric angles of solutions of styrene copolymers with 4-vinylbenzyl chloride modified with N,N-dimethyldodecylamine. The micromorphology of the adsorbed and spread layers of these polyelectrolytes has also been studied. All kinetic dependences of the dynamic surface elasticity have turned out to be monotonic in contrast to those observed for previously studied solutions of polyelectrolytes free of polystyrene fragments. The peculiarities of the surface properties of the studied solutions may be related to the formation of microaggregates in the surface layers, because these microaggregates suppress the formation of loops and tails of polymer chains at the interfaces, and, consequently, decrease the surface elasticity after the local maximum. Atomic force microscopy data also indicate the formation of aggregates with sizes in the Z direction of 1–4 nm in the surface layers. The obtained results confirm the conclusions previously made about the formation of aggregates in the surface layers of solutions of polyelectrolytes containing fragments of sodium poly(styrene sulfonate). A 2D phase transition to a denser surface phase and the formation of aggregates with a size of 40 nm in the Z direction have been observed at surface pressures of 25–30 mN/m for the layers of the studied styrene-free polyelectrolyte spread over an aqueous substrate.