SURFACE AND INTERFACE ANALYSIS, VOL. 26, 1050 (1997)

Book Reviews

D. BRIGGS

Surface Analysis of Polymers by XPSand Static SIMSCambridge Solid State Science SeriesPrice : £40. No. of pages : xiv] 198.Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,1998.

Polymer surfaces are of scientiÐc interestand technological importance. X-rayphotoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) andsecondary ion mass spectrometry(SIMS) are the two most versatile tech-niques for the study of polymer surfaces,their complementary characteristics wellrecognized by surface analysts andmanufacturers alike. Whilst a number ofreviews cover the application of XPS orSIMS separately, the important featureof this monograph is that it considersthe techniques together. It covers theessential theory and instrumentation ofXPS and SIMS and their application topolymeric materials.

The monograph is divided into sixchapters. Chapter 1 introduces polymersurfaces and provides a brief history ofXPS and SIMS. Chapter 2 covers theXPS instrument and the physical basisof XPS. The essential physics of the in-strument is presented without unneces-sary complication. Whilst the section onthe physical basis of XPS is rather moredetailed, care has been taken to pointout what is important in the analysis ofpolymers. For example, in the sectionon quantiÐcation there is a useful tableof suggested polymer standards to allowthe calculation of experimentallyderived sensitivity factors. Chapter 3

* Correspondence to : Dr R. D. Short,Department of Engineering Materials, SirRobert HadÐeld Building, Mappin Street,Sheffield S1 3JD, UK.

deals with the XPS of polymers. Itcovers the common problems of bindingenergy scale reference and radiationdamage, and the range of features seenin the X-ray photoelectron spectrum(lineshape, vibrational structure, curveÐtting, chemical shift, shake-upÈshake-o† and valence bands). Reduced empha-sis is given to the chemical derivatiza-tion of functional groups, illustrating thefrustration of workers to establish selec-tive and reliable schemes that avoidunacceptable perturbation of the sur-face.

Chapter 4 describes the SIMS instru-ment and the physical basis of SIMS,whilst Chapter 5 deals with the applica-tion of SIMS. In Chapter 4, care isagain taken to keep the discussion rele-vant to polymer surface analysis. Thesection on the SIMS instrument coversthe source, analyser, detection and datasystems. The commonly encounteredSIMS conÐgurations are described, con-cise descriptions of sputtering and ion-ization are give and the length of eachsection generally reÑects the subjectÏsimportance to the practitioner of SIMS.For example, a larger section is devotedto charge compensation, reÑectingthe “griefÏ that it gives most analystswho wish to look at insulators. Chapter5 starts with elemental identiÐcation.There is a logical progression throughthe spectra of polymers by class, hydro-carbon, side-chain oxygen, main-chainoxygen, nitrogen-containing, halogen-containing and silicones. Then followsections on general issues that havemuch occupied the attention of polymersurface analysts : quantiÐcation, end-group e†ects, the application of chemo-metric techniques, the SIMS of small

molecules and cationization.The Ðnal chapter, Chapter 6, provides

Ðve illustrative examples of the com-bined use of XPS and SIMS. The exam-ples cover the analysis of copolymers,biomedical poly(urethanes), surfacemodiÐcations, surface morphology ofPVC/PMMA blends and electroactivepolymers. These examples were selectedbecause they emphasize the beneÐts ofcombined XPS and SIMS analysis.They make interesting reading.

Throughout the monograph, theauthor provides us with the beneÐt ofhis expertise as a practitioner of XPSand SIMS applied to polymers. He ma-nages to convey that, despite all the bur-geoning sophistication of instrumentsand computer software, etc., there is stillan “artÏ to optimizing the informationthat can be obtained in polymer surfaceanalysis. The book is bang up to dateon the instrumentation, theory and thestudies reported. The style and layoutensure easy reading. The layout makesaccess to speciÐc pieces of informationstraightforward, and a good number ofÐgures are used to illustrate salientpoints.

I am unaware of a similar book, andits price is modest. It is pitched at theright level for Ðnal-year undergraduateor Ðrst-year postgraduate students ofchemistry or material science. For thelatter, it would make an excellent intro-duction to the subject of polymer sur-faces per se. The book would be ofsimilar value to industrial researchers,as an introduction to the Ðeld of poly-mer surfaces and surface analysis.

R. D. SHORT

Department of Engineering Materials,

University of Sheffield

CCC 0142È2421/98/131050/01 $17.501997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.(