Chain flattening and infrared dichroism of adsorbed poly(ethylene oxide)

The adsorption of poly(ethylene oxide), PEG, from dilute solutions in 1 mM aqueous NaCl to germanium at 30 degrees C, was investigated by polarized infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total internal reflection (ATR). PEO aggregation could be prevented with careful sample preparation. After adsorption, chain anisotropy was deduced from the C-O-C stretching vibrations along the polymer backbone and found to indicate substantial backbone alignment parallel to the surface