Investigation of morphological and electrical properties of the PMMA coating upon exposure to UV irradiation based on AFM studies

The objective of study was to investigate the influence of UV irradiation on morphological changes of a polymeric surface and its electrical properties. In the presented investigation thin poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film was applied onto iron substrate by solution casting method. UV-C irradiation in range of 200–280 nm was used as a deteriorative factor to induce polymer degradation. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) method was employed to study surface topography of the PMMA coatings before and after exposure to UV-illumination. Photo-induced changes in the polymer surface taking form of microcracks were illustrated by AFM images. In order to support results obtained with AFM method, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were conducted. The authors chose this technique to confirm whether the changes on UV-exposed PMMA surface observed on AFM images could indicate potential sites of the polymer coating long before serious damage could occur. Both methods EIS and AFM were used in order to provide information about durability of PMMA film.