The surface morphology of polypropylene, polyethylene, and cellulose, was probed in air, water, and in EO-PO-EO triblock polymer solutions by using Atomic Force Microscopy. An asymmetry ratio was used to demonstrate that the adsorption of EO19PO29EO19 on surfaces was in the buoy-dominating regime. Different self-assembled structures were observed to form on the polymeric surfaces such as buoy-anchor-buoy structure on the hydrophobic PP surface, pancake-type structure on the hydrophobic PE surface, and an anchor-buoy-anchor structure on the hydrophilic cellulose surface. Our findings are valuable in explaining the behaviors of polymer finishes in textile processing, the morphology of the adsorbed layer and the surface roughness all of which affect friction and wear.

(a)                                              (b)                                             (c) Figure 1. First line: polypropylene (a),  polyethylene (b), cellulose (c) surfaces coated with triblock polymer. Proposed self-assembled structures formed on polypropylene (a),  polyethylene (b), cellulose (c) surfaces, respectively.