Eur. Phys. J. E (2005) 17: 353-359
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2004-10147-4

Original Article

Resonantly enhanced off-specular X-ray scattering from polymer/polymer interfaces^⋆

¹ Intense Pulsed Neutron Source, Argonne National Laboratory, IL-60439, Argonne, USA
² Department of Physics, Northern Illinois University, IL-60115, DeKalb, USA
³ Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, IL-60439, Argonne, USA
⁴ Department of Physics, University of California, CA-92093, San Diego, La Jolla, USA

^* e-mail: jlal@anl.gov

Received: 9 November 2004
Accepted: 26 April 2005
Published online: 18 July 2005

Abstract

We have used measurements of the absolute intensity of diffuse X-ray scattering to extract the interfacial tension of a buried polymer/polymer interface. Diffuse scattering was excited by an X-ray standing wave whose phase was adjusted to have a high intensity at the polymer/polymer interface and simultaneously a node at the polymer/air interface. This method permits the capillary-wave-induced roughness of the interface, and hence the interfacial tension, to be measured independently of the polymer/polymer interdiffusion.