Molecular Behavior of Amide Wax Molecules on Carboxylic Acid-Functionalized Polyethylene Surfaces

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are highly ordered thin coatings that provide a variety of excellent properties to the material surface. They bestow unique properties to the material such as hydrophobicity, lubrication, and barrier performance but are challenging to investigate due to their low concentrations. In this study, we investigate the SAM formation of amide wax components that segregate from the carboxylic acid-functionalized polyethylene coating bulk and self-assemble at the surface. We applied sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy to study the SAM formations and the resulting structures of segregated surface waxes as a function of the wax/polymer ratio, polymer matrix formulation, and wax molecule types. It was found that the type of wax molecules, the wax concentration, and the composition of the polymer matrix strongly influence the quality of the formed SAM. Increasing the heat treatment temperature had positive effects on the waxes that were weakly trapped by the bulk matrices but did not impact the waxes interacting strongly with the polymer matrix.