XANES study of metal/polymer interfaces : standard surface and first metallization stages

We have studied, by X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES), the properties of untreated and chromium metallized surface of polyphenylquinoxaline (PPQ). Using reference compounds such as 2,2'-biquinoline, we point out that the terminal phenyl rings of the polymer are normal to the surface of pristine PPQ. Moreover, it is shown that chromium/polymer interaction induces a reorientation of these terminal phenyl rings parallel to the polymer unit mean plane