Depth-sensitive time-of-flight small-angle neutron scattering

Block copolymers are quiet imported in industry. A detailed knowledge of the solid-liquid boundary conditions for surface effects in their aqueous solutions supports the development of smart coatings or the understanding of the folding of proteins in the vicinity of cell membranes. In this work, data collected from small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments will be evaluated. The probed material is a 20\% (in weight) solution of the polymer Pluronic F127, which forms micelles inside the solution. The structures built by these micelles at different temperatures and different surface energies are the main topic of this work. It will be shown that SANS is an appropriate technique to probe solid-liquid boundaries depth-sensitively where the latter is a result of the use of a whole wavelengths spectrum instead of running the experiment at one fixed wavelength. The main result is that the micelles form a polycristalline fcc structure in case of an attractive surface potential. A repulsive potential suppresses crystallization up to a certain distance from the surface