TY - JOUR A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Qu, Xintong A1 - Abbasi, M. A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard A1 - Henning, S. A1 - Li, Z. A1 - Wang, D.-Y. A1 - Schick, C. A1 - Saalwächter, K. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Spatial inhomogeneity, Interfaces and Complex Vitrification Kinetics in a Network Forming Nanocomposite N2 - A detailed calorimetric study on an epoxy-based nanocomposite system was performed employing bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (DGEBA) cured with diethylenetriamine (DETA) as the polymer matrix and taurine-modified MgAL layered double hydroxide (T-LDH) as nanofiller. The -NH2 group of taurine can react with DGEBA improving the interaction of the polymer with the filler. The combined X-ray scattering, and electron microscopy data showed that the nanocomposite has a partially exfoliated morphology. Calorimetric studies were performed with conventional DSC, temperature modulated DSC (TMDSC) and fast scanning calorimetry (FSC) in the temperature modulated approach (TMFSC) to investigate the vitrification and molecular mobility in dependence of the filler concentration. First, TMDSC and NMR were used to estimate the amount of the rigid amorphous fraction which consists of immobilized polymer segments at the nanoparticle surface. It was found to be 40 wt% for the highest filler concentration, indicating that the interface dominates the overall macroscopic properties and behavior of the material to a great extent. Second, the relaxation rates of the α-relaxation obtained by TMDSC and TMFSC were compared with the thermal and dielectric relaxation rates measured by static FSC. The investigation revealed that the system shows two distinct α-relaxation processes. Furthermore, also two separate vitrification mechanisms were found for a bulk network-former without geometrical confinement as also confirmed by NMR. This was discussed in terms of the intrinsic spatial heterogeneity on a molecular scale, which becomes more pronounced with increasing nanofiller content. KW - Polymer based Nanocomposites PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-523199 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d0sm01992e SN - 1744-6848 VL - 17 IS - 10 SP - 2775 EP - 2790 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-52319 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Li, Z. A1 - Raab, A. A1 - Kolmangadi, Mohamed Aejaz A1 - Busch, M. A1 - Grunwald, M. A1 - Demel, F. A1 - Bertram, F. A1 - Kityk, A. V. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas A1 - Laschat, S. A1 - Huber, P. T1 - Self-Assembly of Ionic Superdiscs in Nanopores N2 - Discotic ionic liquid crystals (DILCs) consist of self-assembled superdiscs of cations and anions that spontaneously stack in linear columns with high one-dimensional ionic and electronic charge mobility, making them prominent model systems for functional soft matter. Compared to classical nonionic discotic liquid crystals, many liquid crystalline structures with a combination of electronic and ionic conductivity have been reported, which are of interest for separation membranes, artificial ion/proton conducting membranes, and optoelectronics. Unfortunately, a homogeneous alignment of the DILCs on the macroscale is often not achievable, which significantly limits the applicability of DILCs. Infiltration into nanoporous solid scaffolds can, in principle, overcome this drawback. However, due to the experimental challenges to scrutinize liquid crystalline order in extreme spatial confinement, little is known about the structures of DILCs in nanopores. Here, we present temperaturedependent high-resolution optical birefringence measurement and 3D reciprocal space mapping based on synchrotron X-ray scattering to investigate the thermotropic phase behavior of dopamine-based ionic liquid crystals confined in cylindrical channels of 180 nm diameter in macroscopic anodic aluminum oxide membranes. As a function of the membranes’ hydrophilicity and thus the molecular anchoring to the pore walls (edge-on or face-on) and the variation of the hydrophilic−hydrophobic balance between the aromatic cores and the alkyl side chain motifs of the superdiscs by tailored chemical synthesis, we find a particularly rich phase behavior, which is not present in the bulk state. It is governed by a complex interplay of liquid crystalline elastic energies (bending and splay deformations), polar interactions, and pure geometric confinement and includes textural transitions between radial and axial alignment of the columns with respect to the long nanochannel axis. Furthermore, confinement-induced continuous order formation is observed in contrast to discontinuous first-order phase transitions, which can be quantitatively described by Landau-de Gennes free energy models for liquid crystalline order transitions in confinement. Our observations suggest that the infiltration of DILCs into nanoporous solids allows tailoring their nanoscale texture and ion channel formation and thus their electrical and optical functionalities over an even wider range than in the bulk state in a homogeneous manner on the centimeter scale as controlled by the monolithic nanoporous scaffolds. KW - Ionic Liquid Crystals KW - Nanopropous materials KW - Landau de-Gennes analysis KW - X-ray scattering KW - Optical birefringence PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-600797 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c01062 SN - 1936-0851 VL - 18 IS - 22 SP - 14414 EP - 14426 PB - ACS AN - OPUS4-60079 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hu, W. A1 - Said, Samir A1 - Rohrmann, R. A1 - Teng, J. A1 - Li, Z. A1 - Lu, W. A1 - Cunha, A. T1 - Operational modal analysis and continuous dynamic monitoring of structures N2 - This paper addresses operational modal analysis (OMA) and continuous dynamic monitoring (CDM) of two bridges. One of them is installed with Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs) while another one is a normal bridge. Two ambient vibration tests were performed on these two bridges respectively. It is observed that not only installation of TMDs but also environmental factors influence the variations of structural frequencies, which may mask the subtle change induced by small structural changes. As a result, continuous dynamic monitoring systems were implemented on these two bridges, in order to evaluate efficiency of the TMD system, remove the environmental effects and build reliable damage indices that are only sensitive to structural changes. The results of CDM of these two bridges during several years are presented. Software systems developed for OMA and CDM are also introduced. T2 - 14th International Symposium on Structural Engineering (ISSE-14) CY - Beijing, Peoples Republic of China DA - 12.10.2016 KW - Structure KW - Operational modal analysis KW - Continuous dynamic monitoring PY - 2016 SN - 978-7-03-050125-7 VL - 2016 SP - 366 EP - 372 PB - Science Press Beijing AN - OPUS4-38876 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Li, Z. A1 - Gao, S. A1 - Brand, U. A1 - Hiller, K. A1 - Wollschläger, Nicole A1 - Pohlenz, F. T1 - Note: Nanomechanical characterization of soft materials using a micro-machined nanoforce transducer with an FIB-made pyramidal tip N2 - The quantitative nanomechanical characterization of soft materials using the nanoindentation technique requires further improvements in the performances of instruments, including their force Resolution in particular. A micro-machined silicon nanoforce transducer based upon electrostatic comb drives featuring the force and depth resolutions down to 1 nN and 0.2 nm, respectively, is described. At the end of theMEMStransducer’s main shaft, a pyramidal tip is fabricated using a focused ion beam facility. A proof-of-principle setup with this MEMS nanoindenter has been established to measure the mechanical properties of soft polydimethylsiloxane. First measurement results demonstrate that the prototype measurement system is able to quantitatively characterize soft materials with elastic moduli down to a few MPa. KW - MEMS KW - Indentation KW - Soft material PY - 2017 DO - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4977474 SN - 0034-6748 SN - 1089-7623 VL - 88 IS - 3 SP - 036104-1 EP - 036104-3 PB - AIP Publishing AN - OPUS4-39313 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Omar, Hassan A1 - Smales, Glen Jacob A1 - Henning, S. A1 - Li, Z. A1 - Wang, D.-Y. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina T1 - Calorimetric and Dielectric Investigations of Epoxy-Based Nanocomposites with Halloysite Nanotubes as Nanofillers N2 - Epoxy nanocomposites are promising materials for industrial applications (i.e., aerospace, marine and automotive industry) due to their extraordinary mechanical and thermal properties. Here, the effect of hollow halloysite nanotubes (HNT) on an epoxy matrix (Ep) was the focus of the study. The structure and molecular mobility of the nanocomposites were investigated using a combination of X-ray scattering, calorimetry (differential (DSC) and fast scanning calorimetry (FSC)) and dielectric spectroscopy. Additionally, the effect of surface modification of HNT (polydopamine (PDA) and Fe(OH)3 nanodots) was considered. For Ep/HNT, the glass transition temperature (Tg) is was de-creased due to a nanoparticle-related decrease of the crosslinking density. For the modified system, Ep/m-HNT, the surface modification resulted in enhanced filler–matrix interactions leading to higher Tg values than the pure epoxy in some cases. For Ep/m-HNT, the amount of interface formed between the nanoparticles and the matrix ranged from 5% to 15%. Through BDS measurements, localized fluctuations were detected as a β- and γ-relaxation, related to rotational fluctuations of phenyl rings and local reorientations of unreacted components. A combination of calorimetry and BDS dielectric spectroscopy revealed a dynamic and structural heterogeneity of the matrix, as confirmed by two glassy dynamics in both systems, related to regions with different crosslinking densities. KW - Rigid amorphous fraction KW - Epoxy nanocomposites KW - Halloysite nanotubes KW - X-ray scattering KW - Differential scanning calorimetry KW - Broadband dielectric spectroscopy KW - Flash DSC PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-526668 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13101634 VL - 13 IS - 10 SP - 1634 PB - MDPI AN - OPUS4-52666 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kolmangadi, Mohamed A. A1 - Raab, A. R. A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Li, Z. A1 - Huber, P. A1 - Laschat, S. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Molecular mobility and electrical conductivity of amino acid-based (DOPA) ionic liquid crystals in the bulk state and nanoconfinement N2 - This study explores the molecular mobility, phase behavior, and electrical conductivity of dihydroxyphenylalanine-based ionic liquid crystals (DOPAn, with alkyl side chains n = 12, 14, 16) featuring cyclic guanidiniumchloride headgroups, in both bulk and nanoconfined states. Using broadband dielectric spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and fast scanning calorimetry, the research uncovers a complex interplay between molecular structure, self-assembly, and molecular mobility. In bulk, DOPAn shows a phase sequence from plastic crystalline to hexagonal columnar and isotropic phases, driven by superdisc formation and columnar organization. Multiple relaxation processes are identified: localized side-chain dynamics (γ-relaxation), ionic headgroup or core motions (α1-relaxation), and cooperative alkyl domain fluctuations (α2-relaxation). Conductivity decreases with increasing side chain length. Under nanoconfinement in anodic aluminum oxide membranes, phase behavior changes: the Colh–Iso transition is suppressed, and a new α3-relaxation appears, linked to dynamics in an adsorbed interfacial layer. DC conductivity drops by up to four orders of magnitude due to confinement effects, altered molecular orientation, and phase transitions—especially the emergence of a nematic-like state in DOPA16. These findings highlight the importance of molecular design, pore geometry, and surface chemistry in tuning ionic liquid crystal properties for advanced applications in nanofluidics, ion transport, and responsive materials. KW - Ionic Liquid Crystals PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-639657 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cp02406d SN - 1463-9084 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-63965 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meng, M. A1 - Zhang, T. A1 - Wang, J. A1 - Cheng, Z. A1 - Li, Z. A1 - Qiao, X. A1 - Wen, J. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Long, W. A1 - Ou, Jun T1 - Preparation of NaYF4: Yb3+/Tm3+@NaYF4@β-CD upconversion nanoparticles and application of their fluorescence temperature sensing properties N2 - The NaYF4: Yb3+/Tm3+@NaYF4@β-CD upconversion nanoparticles were successfully prepared by the solvothermal method, and the samples were pure hexagonal phase with good crystallinity and homogeneous size, asevidenced by XRD and TEM analysis. The FT-IR analysis shows that β-CD is successfully encapsulated on the surface of NaYF4: Yb3+/Tm3+@NaYF4 nanoparticles. The fluorescence intensity 3and lifetime were significantly increased after coating the inert layer on the surface of core nanoparticles. After further surface modification of β-CD, the fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime were reduced, but the overall fluorescence was stronger. Temperature measurements using the fluorescence intensity ratio technique were found to have relatively low reliability and absolute sensitivity for temperature measurements using thermally coupled energy levels. However, the reliability of temperature measurements using non-thermally coupled energy levels is significantly higher and the absolute sensitivity is much higher than for measurements at thermally coupled levels. Since the maximum absolute sensitivity, maximum relative sensitivity and minimum temperature resolution are determined to be 0.1179 K-1, 2.19 %K􀀀 1 and 0.00019 K, respectively, NaYF4: Yb3+/Tm3+@NaYF4@β-CD upconversion nanoparticles are expected to be widely used in the biomedical field due to their feasibility, reliability, non-toxicity and harmlessness. KW - Upconversion KW - Surface modification KW - Fluorescence intensity ratio KW - Thermally coupled levels KW - Non-thermally coupled levels PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2022.113389 SN - 0925-3467 VL - 136 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-57105 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Khare, V. A1 - Li, Z. A1 - Mantion, Alexandre A1 - Ayi, A. A. A1 - Sonkaria, S. A1 - Voelkl, A. A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Taubert, A. T1 - Strong anion effects on gold nanoparticle formation in ionic liquids N2 - Ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted tremendous interest in the recent past for their potential in many chemical fields. The current report explores the effects of a set of ILs based on the 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium cation and different anions on the formation of gold nanoparticles. X-Ray diffraction finds face-centered cubic gold in all cases, but transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows that there are distinct differences in particle formation and stabilization with the ethyl sulfate (ES), trifluoromethanesulfonate (TfO) and methanesulfonate (MS) anions. With the MS anion, nanoparticles with diameters between 5 and 7 nm form, which increasingly aggregate at higher reaction temperatures. With TfO, also small 5 to 7 nm particles form, but only at low temperatures. Above ca. 160 °C, large, ill-defined and aggregated particles form. With ES, polydisperse samples form at all temperatures except 160 °C. In this case the nanoparticles appear often surrounded by an IL film, which appears to stabilize individual, ca. 15 to 20 nm particles. Dynamic light scattering and UV/Vis spectroscopy further show that in suspension the particles are, much like seen in the TEM, more strongly aggregated with higher reaction temperatures. In summary, the results suggest that there are very specific IL-gold interactions that are responsible for the formation of gold particles with an IL-specific shape, size, and aggregation behavior. KW - Ionic liquid templating KW - Gold nanoparticle KW - Ionic liquid PY - 2010 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/b917467b SN - 0959-9428 SN - 1364-5501 VL - 20 SP - 1332 EP - 1339 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-20872 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lin, R. A1 - Li, X. A1 - Krajnc, A. A1 - Li, Z. A1 - Li, M. A1 - Wang, W. A1 - Zhuang, L. A1 - Smart, S. A1 - Zhu, Z. A1 - Appadoo, D. A1 - Harmer, J. R. A1 - Wang, Z. A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Beyer, S. A1 - Wang, L. A1 - Mali, G. A1 - Bennett, T. D. A1 - Chen, V. A1 - Hou, J. T1 - Mechanochemically Synthesised Flexible Electrodes Based on Bimetallic Metal–Organic Framework Glasses for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction N2 - The melting behaviour of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) has aroused significant research interest in the areas of materials science, condensed matter physics and chemical engineering. This work first introduces a novel method to fabricate a bimetallic MOF glass, through meltquenching of the cobalt-based zeolitic imidazolate Framework (ZIF) [ZIF-62(Co)] with an adsorbed ferric coordination complex. The high-temperature chemically reactive ZIF-62-(Co) liquid facilitates the formation of coordinative bonds between Fe and imidazolate ligands, incorporating Fe nodes into the framework after quenching. The resultant Co–Fe bimetallic MOF glass therefore shows a significantly enhanced oxygen evolution reaction performance. The novel bimetallic MOF glass, when combined with the facile and scalable mechanochemical synthesis technique for both discrete powders and surface coatings on flexible substrates, enables significant opportunities for catalytic device Assembly KW - Electrodes KW - MOF KW - OER KW - XANES KW - XAS KW - Bimetallic frameworks PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202112880 VL - 61 IS - 4 SP - e202112880 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-54018 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Li, L. A1 - Darvishi Kamachali, Reza A1 - Li, Z. A1 - Zhang, Z. T1 - Grain boundary energy effect on grain boundary segregation in an equiatomic high-entropy alloy N2 - Grain boundary (GB) Segregation has a substantial effect on the microstructure evolution and properties of polycrystalline alloys. The mechanism of nanoscale segregation at the various GBs in multicomponent alloys is of great challenge to reveal and remains elusive so far. To address this issue, we studied the GB segregation in a representative equiatomic FeMnNiCoCr high-entropy alloy (HEA) aged at 450 °C. By combining transmission Kikuchi diffraction, atom probe tomography analysis and a density-based thermodynamics modeling, we uncover the nanoscale segregation behavior at a series of well-characterized GBs of different characters. No segregation occurs at coherent twin boundaries; only slight nanoscale segregation of Ni takes place at the low-angle GBs and vicinal \Sigma 29b coincidence site lattice GBs. Ni and Mn show cosegregation of high levels at the general high-angle GBs with a strong depletion in Fe, Cr, and Co. Our density-based thermodynamic model reveals that the highly negative energy of mixing Ni and Mn is the main driving force for nanoscale cosegregation to the GBs. This is further assisted by the opposite segregation of Ni and Cr atoms with a positive enthalpy of mixing. It is also found that GBs of higher interfacial energy, possessing lower atomic densities (higher disorder and free volume), show higher segregation levels. By clarifying the origins of GB segregations in the FeMnNiCoCr HEA, the current work provides fundamental ideas on nanoscale segregation at crystal defects in multicomponent alloys. KW - Thermodynamics KW - High-Entropy Alloys KW - Grain Boundary Segregation PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-508827 DO - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.4.053603 VL - 4 IS - 5 SP - 053603 PB - American Physical Society AN - OPUS4-50882 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -