Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
The interface formed between metals, Ti and Cr, and polymers, epoxy and triazine, have been studied, nondestructively, using x-ray absorption spectroscopy. The metals were sputtered onto the polymer surfaces. Titanium reacts extensively, up to Ti thicknesses of 100 Å while Cr remains primarily metallic. In situ heating at 200°C increases the extent of reaction for both metals. Heating has a greater effect on metal/epoxy interfaces than metal/triazine. Titanium and Cr were ion implanted into the polymer in order to determine the interactions of isolated metal atoms with the polymer. Titanium and Cr appear to form oxides as the final reaction product, and the Ti is tetrahedrally coordinated.