Valence band structure of PDMS surface and a blend with MWCNTs:A UPS and MIES study of an insulating polymer

The use of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is increasing with new technologies working toward compact, flexible and transparent devices for use in medical and microfluidic systems. Electronic characterization of PDMS and other insulating materials is difficult due to charging, yet necessary for many applications where the interfacial structure is vital to device function or further modification. The outermost layer in particular is of importance as this is the area where chemical reactions such as surface functionalization will occur. Here, we investigate the valence band structure of the outermost layer and near surface area of PDMS through the use of metastable induced photoelectron spectroscopy (MIES) paired with ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). The chemical composition of the samples under investigation were measured via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the vertical distribution of the polymer was shown with neutral impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy (NICISS). Three separate methods for charge compensation are used for the samples, and their effectiveness is compared.