Poly(methyl methacrylate) film dissolution and solvent diffusion coefficients: correlations determined using laser interferometry-fluorescence quenching and pulsed-gradient spin-echo NMR spectroscopy

We correlate the results of pulsed-gradient spin-echo (PGSE) NMR measurements of solvent self-diffusion coefficients in binary poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) mixtures with laser interferometry-fluorescence quenching (LIFQ) measurements of PMMA film dissolution for a series of identical ketone and ester solvents. Within a homologous solvent series, the self-diffusion coefficients as well as film dissolution rates decrease in tandem with increasing solvent molecular size and cross-section. When self-diffusion coefficients are compared, little difference is found between esters and ketones of nomially identical molecular size. However, systematic differences in film dissolution rates are evident when comparing ketone and ester solvents