Morphology of the surface of sorbents based on a copolymer of styrene and divinylbenzene according to atomic force spectroscopy data

Studies of the surface of polymer complexing sorbents (PCSes) with an o, o′-dioxy-(1-azo-1′) functional analytic group were conducted by means of atomic force spectroscopy (AFM). The characteristic linear dimensions of surface relief objects and their fractal dimensions were determined. The PCS roughness parameters (the mean-root-square profile roughness and average arithmetic roughness) were established and the quantitative dependence between them and the scanning scale was found. The effect of temperature on the sorbents’ structural organization was demonstrated. The obtained data enable us to solve the problem of sorption process intensification through the targeted impact of the class of compounds under examination on the supramolecular structure and polymer substrate morphology in creating the optimum conditions of sorption with PCS participation.