Polylauryl methacrylate

Spread films of polylauryl methacrylate (polydodecyl methacrylate) are also susceptible to investigation by neutron reflectometry and partial structure factor analysis because the main chain backbone and dodecyl substituent can be separately deuterated (Reynolds et al. 1995). From such analysis the distribution of dodecyl substituents of backbone segments and water molecules shown in figure 8.19 was obtained. A notable feature of these distributions is that the methacrylate backbone is completely immersed in the sub-phase, in contrast to the arrangement of polymethyl methacrylate. Secondly, the hydrocarbon substituent penetrates deeper into the sub-phase than does the immersed backbone. At first glance this seems most imlikely however, all of this behaviour can be attributed to the dodecyl substituent. Its hydrophobic nature forces the backbone into the sub-phase. To relieve short-range steric interactions between substituents, rotations about main chain bonds force the dodecyl units slightly deeper into the sub-phase before sufficient bonds in the substituent can rotate... 

---