Nanomechanical thermal analysis of the effects of physical aging on glass transitions in PS/PMMA blend and PS-PMMA diblock copolymers

The effects of physical aging on the thermomechanical properties of polymers were investigated using silicon microcantilever deflection measurements. Polystyrene (PS), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), a PS/PMMA blend, or PS-PMMA diblock copolymer were applied to one side of a microcantilever, and the temperature-dependent thermal stress in the polymers was measured. A maximum compressive stress peak was observed for the PS- and PMMA-coated cantilevers during heating but not during cooling, which produced hysteresis. Physical aging of the polymers was found to contribute to the development of the hysteresis properties. The two distinct maximum compressive stress peaks in the PS/PMMA blend coincided with the temperatures at which the pure PS and PMMA peaks occurred, indicating that the glass transitions of each polymer were independent. In contrast, the thermal stress profiles of the PS-PMMA copolymer exhibited a single broad peak at a position intermediate between the peak positions of the pure PS and PMMA, indicating that the PS and PMMA polymers interacted during the glass transition.