Nano-architectures and dynamics of polymer chains adsorbed on planar solid surfaces

It is known that polymer chains adsorb even onto weakly attractive surfaces, forming three types of segment sequences, "trains" (adsorbed segments), "loops" (sequences of free segments connecting successive trains), and "tails" (non-adsorbed chain ends). There is now growing evidence that the polymer/substrate interface plays a crucial role in the physical and mechanical properties of polymeric materials confined at the nanometer scale. However, the mechanism associated with the structure and dynamics at the interface still remains unsolved due to the lack of suitable experimental tools. In order to provide a better understanding of the interfacial behavior at the nanometer scale, we have integrated a suite of in-situ and real-time X-ray/neutron scattering techniques. Here, I review our recent experimental results on the revealed nano-architectures and dynamics of adsorbed polymer chains at the interface. In addition, the impact of the nanometer thick adsorbed layer at the interface on the local property of polymer thin films is also discussed.