Dimensions of polystyrene particles deposited on mica from dilute cyclohexane solution at different temperatures

Abstract

Using atomic force microscopy, the height, diameter, and volume of polystyrene particles deposited on mica from dilute cyclohexane solution at different temperatures are determined. Dimensions exhibit a strong temperature dependence. The heights of the deposited particles are only a few atomic diameters, the major dimension being parallel to the mica surface. The number of single polystyrene molecules in a deposited particle cannot be determined directly by atomic force microscopy. However, the maximum number of molecules that may be present in a particle may be estimated. Below 35 °C, the particles possibly consist of single collapsed molecules. This number increases with temperature and becomes as large as about 30 molecules per particle at 80 °C. The volume occupied by a single chain in solvent is calculated as a function of temperature and compared with observed volumes of dry particles on mica. A linear relationship is observed between single chain volumes in solvent and corresponding particle volumes on mica. On the average, the volume of a single chain in solution is 10 times the volume of a dry particle at the corresponding temperature. Fluctuations of chain volumes that are dominant in solution are also present in the volumes of particles deposited and dried on mica.