The spatially-resolved structure and composition of amorphous or semicrystalline polymer-polymer interfaces are poorly understood. The absence of atomic-level periodicity precludes many of the transmission electron-optical techniques that have been so fruitful in studying interfaces in polycrystalline inorganic materials. Similarly, there has been relatively little work done on spatially-resolved spectroscopic analysis of polymer-polymer interfaces to determine chemical widths, largely because of concerns over electron-beam damage. Digital microscope control and parallel spectral acquisition provide for low-dose exposure, quantification of dose, and efficient data collection which open new windows to study polymer interfaces.

This research is studying various multiphase polymer systems by focused-probe spectroscopic analysis to identify appropriate spectral features, data acquisition protocols, and background-modeling/data-processing algorithms in order to establish chemical widths characteristic of specific polymer-polymer interfaces (1). This research uses a 200keV Philips CM20 FEG TEM/STEM with a Gatan 666 PEELS spectrometer and an Emispec digital data acquisition/control system.