Polymer Film Behavior: An ongoing debate in the understanding of the behavior of thin-film glassy polymers is whether there is nanoconfinement of large molecules or enhanced mobility near a free surface.
Chai
et al. (p. 994 ; see the Perspective by
Chen
et al. ) prepared polymer films with a sharp step in the profile by depositing broken film fragments onto a uniform underlay. Atomic force microscopy revealed changes to the overall film profile with time at various temperatures. A transition was observed from localized motions to relaxation of the entire film at a temperature close to that of the bulk glass transition temperature.