Effects of microphase separation and density–density correlations in amorphous polymer films

The topology of density fluctuations on the surface of amorphous films obtained from solutions of some flexible-chain polymers has been studied using electron microscopy data in the submicron and micron scale ranges. It is shown that as the initial concentration of solutions increases, the effects of microphase separation in films increase due to the self-organization of aggregates (clusters) of macromolecules: anisotropy, long-range order, and correlation length of density fluctuations increase. Self-organization ends with the formation of an infinite cluster of particles, periodically-inhomogeneous in density and occupying $\sim$ 30% of the surface of the films. The density – density correlation function of such a cluster on the $\sim\xi$ scale has a universal form that does not depend on the composition and molecular weight of the polymer.