Interfacial Characterization of Rigid Polymer Coatings

In order to enhance the performance and durability of today's polymer coatings it is pivotal to be able to characterize their mechanical and chemical properties, with emphasized importance on coating-substrate interfaces which are common points of material failure. The purpose of this thesis was to develop and demonstrate novel characterization methods to measure the interfacial and bulk properties of these polymer films and improve the overall understanding of these materials. The first portion of this thesis explores a new peel test technique to measure the adhesion between substrates and coatings. The employed method examines the effect of processing conditions and substrate treatment on the adhesion of polyurethane coatings. This technique successfully quantifies the adhesion of polyurethane coatings to a variety of treated substrates and at multiple curing temperatures. The second thrust of this thesis involves the utilization of a quartz crystal microbalance instrument to characterize the bulk rheological properties of polymer films and coatings in situ. This novel method enables the examination of the effect of temperature and mixing stoichiometry on the rheological properties of curing polyurethane coatings and polymer films. This analysis is extended to measure the curing and aging of paint systems relevant to the art conservation scientific community. The final portion of this thesis focuses on understanding the effect of pH on the interfacial swelling of polymer films in aqueous environments. The quartz crystal microbalance is used to characterize the swelling of interfacial polymer films as water reaches the interface, and the corresponding permeability and osmotic pressure provides insight into the mechanisms of delamination and adhesive failure of coatings attached to metal surfaces. The novel methods and calculations established in this thesis enable precise measurements of coating interfaces and rheological properties and have considerable potential to be applied to an even greater variety of polymer film characterization problems.