Characterization of cyclic polystyrene with high molecular weight and its interdiffusion behavior

In this paper, synthesis and characterization of cyclic polystyrenes (c-PS) including the structural feature of one of the derivatives and interdiffusion of c-PS are described. The cyclic structure of poly (styrenesulfonate), which was obtained by sulfonation of c-PS, was directly confirmed by atomic force microscopic observation. The purities of c-PS, evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography, were higher than 95%. The time-dependent interfacial thickness of a cyclic polystyrene (c-hPS)/its deuterated counterpart (c-dPS) bilayer film and that of a linear polystyrene (1-hPS)/its deuterated counterpart (1-dPS) bilayer film was investigated by dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry (DSIMS) and neutron reflectivity (NR) measurement. The diffusion constant of c-PS is significantly larger than that of the corresponding linear one. This can be explained in terms of weaker topological constraint due to the lesser entanglement of c-PS.