Filtern
Dokumenttyp
Sprache
- Englisch (7)
Schlagworte
- Specific heat spectroscopy (7) (entfernen)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
The discussions on the nanoconfinement effect on the glass transition and glassy dynamics phenomena have yielded many open questions. Here, the thickness dependence of the thermal glass transition temperature of thin films of a PVME/PS blend is investigated by ellipsometry. Its thickness dependence was compared to that of the dynamic glass transition (measured by specific heat spectroscopy), and the deduced Vogel temperature (T0). While and T0 showed a monotonous increase, with decreasing the film thickness, the dynamic glass transition temperature () measured at a finite frequency showed a non-monotonous dependence that peaks at 30 nm. This was discussed by assuming different cooperativity length scales at these temperatures, which have different sensitivities to composition and thickness. This non-monotonous thickness dependence of disappears for frequencies characteristic for T0. Further analysis of the fragility parameter, showed a change in the glassy dynamics from strong to fragile, with decreasing film thickness.
Specific heat spectroscopy in the frequency range typically from 1 Hz to 1 kHz with a sensitivity of pJ/K was employed to study the glass transition behavior of ultrathin poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) films with thicknesses ranging from 218 nm down to 12 nm. The amplitude and the phase angle of the complex differential voltage as a measure of the complex heat capacity were obtained as a function of temperature at a given frequency simultaneously. Both spectra are used to determine the dynamic glass transition temperature as a function of both the frequency and the film thickness. As main result no thickness dependence of the dynamic glass transition temperature was observed down to a film thickness of 12 nm within the experimental uncertainty of ±2 K. Further the width of the glass transition is independent of the film thickness which indicates that the extent of the cooperativity is essentially smaller than 12 nm.
Copper has a strong bactericidal effect against multi-drug resistant pathogens and polyethers are known for their resistance to biofilm formation. Herein, we combined Cu nanoparticles (NPs) and a polyether Plasma polymer in the form of nanocomposite thin films and studied whether both effects can be coupled. Cu NPs were produced by magnetron sputtering via the aggregation in a cool buffer gas whereasolyether layers were synthesized by Plasma-Assisted Vapor Phase Deposition with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) used as a precursor. In situ specific heat spectroscopy and XPS analysis revealed the formation of a modified polymer layer around the NPs which propagates on the scale of a few nanometers from the Cu NP/polymer interface and then transforms into a bulk polymer phase. The chemical composition of the modified layer is found to be ether-deficient due to the catalytic influence of copper whereas the bulk polymer Phase exhibits the chemical composition close to the original PEO. Two cooperative glass transition phenomena are revealed that belong to the modified polymer layer and the bulk phase. The former is characterized by constrained mobility of polymer segments which manifests itself via a 30 K increase of dynamic glass transition temperature. Furthermore, the modified layer is characterized by the heterogeneous structure which results in higher fragility of this layer as compared to the bulk phase. The Cu NPs/polyether thin films exhibit reduced Protein adsorption; however, the constrained segmental dynamics leads to the Deterioration of the non-fouling properties for ultra-thin polyether coatings. The films are found to have a bactericidal effect against multi-drug resistant Gram-positive Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The molecular mobility of the highly asymmetric miscible blend poly(vinyl methyl ether)/polystyrene was investigated by broadband dielectric (frequency range 10^-1 Hz – 10^9 Hz) and specific heat spectroscopy (frequency range 10^1 Hz – 10^4 Hz). The dielectric spectra revealed a complex molecular dynamic behavior, where three different relaxation processes were observed. At temperatures below the glass transition temperature an α´-relaxation was found, with an Arrhenius-like temperature dependence of its relaxation rates. It is assigned to localized fluctuations of the confined PVME segments within a frozen glassy matrix dominated by PS. Above the thermal glass transition temperature two processes with a VFT behavior of their relaxation rates were detected called α1- and α2-relaxation, both originating from PVME dipoles fluctuating in PS-rich environments, however with diverse PS concentrations. The relevant length scales for the processes are assumed to be different, corresponding to the Kuhn segment length for the former relaxation and to the CRR for the latter one. The observed multiple glassy dynamics result from spatial local compositional heterogeneities on a microscopic level. Additionally, SHS investigations were performed for the first time for this system, proving an existence of a fourth relaxation process (α3-relaxation) due to the cooperative fluctuations of both PS and PVME segments. The separation between the thermal α3- and dielectric α2-relaxation increases dramatically with increasing polystyrene concentration, proving that the thermal response is dominated by PS.
The glass transition behavior of ultra-thin supported polymer films is discussed controversially in the literature for around 20 years. Substantial efforts have been archived to understand it. In this contribution, a combination of methods sensitive to bulk properties of a system, like dielectric or specific heat spectroscopy with surface analytics, for instance, atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to study the glass transition of ultra-thin supported films. All investigations were carried out on identically prepared and treated samples. Different systems with different complexities going from more or less flexible homopolymers over rigid main chain macromolecules to polymer blends have been studied. For the investigated flexible macromolecules, the dynamic glass transition temperature estimated within the frame of the linear response approach is independent of the film thickness down to several nanometers and identical to the bulk value. For polystyrene it was found the thermal glass transition temperatures can depend on the film thickness. This different behavior is not well understood till now and needs further experimental clarification. For the investigated main chain polymers polycarbonate and polysulfone. Dynamic and thermal glass transition temperature estimated from the dielectric measurements increases with decreasing film thickness. This is discussed in the frame of a strong interaction of the polymer segments with the surface of the substrate. In general for homopolymers, the interaction energy of the polymer segments with the substrate surface cannot be considered as the only parameter, which is responsible for the change in the thermal glass transition with the film thickness. For the investigated miscible blend system of polystyrene/poly(vinyl methyl ether) at a composition of 50/50 wt-% a decrease of the dynamic glass transition temperature with decreasing film thickness is found. This is explained by the formation of a poly(vinyl methyl ether)-rich surface layer with a higher molecular mobility.
A selected series of dipole functionalized triphenylene-based discotic liquid crystals (DLCs) was synthesized and investigated in a systematic way to reveal the phase behavior and molecular dynamics. The later point is of particular importance to understand the charge transport in such systems which is the key property for their applications such as organic field-effect transistors, solar cells or as nanowires in molecular electronics, and also to tune the properties of DLCs. The mesomorphic properties were studied by polarizing optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry, which were compared to the corresponding unfunctionalized DLC. The molecular dynamics were investigated by a combination of state-of-the-art broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) and advanced calorimetry such as fast scanning calorimetry (FSC) and specific heat spectroscopy (SHS). Besides localized fluctuations, surprisingly multiple glassy dynamics were detected for all materials for the first time. Glassy dynamics were proven for both processes unambiguously due to the extraordinary broad frequency range covered. The a1-process is attributed to fluctuations of the alky chains in the intercolumnar space because a polyethylene-like glassy dynamics is observed. This corresponds to a glass transition in a confined three-dimensional space. The a2-process found at temperatures lower than a1-process, is assigned to small scale rotational and/or translational in plane fluctuations of the triphenylene core inside distorted columns. This can be considered as a glass transition in a one-dimensional fluid. Therefore, obtained results are of general importance to understand the glass transition, which is an unsolved problem of condensed matter science.
A combination of different complementary methods is employed to investigate scaling of the molecular dynamics of two different liquid crystals. Each method is sensitive to different kind of fluctuations and provides therefore a different window to look at the molecular dynamics. In detail, broadband dielectric spectroscopy is combined with specific heat spectroscopy and neutron scattering. As systems the nematic liquid crystal E7 and a discotic liquid crystalline pyrene are considered. First of all it was proven that both systems show all peculiarities which are characteristic for glassy dynamics and the glassy state. Especially for the nematic liquid crystal E7 it could be unambiguously shown by a combination of dielectric and specific heat spectroscopy that the tumbling mode is the underlying motional process responsible for glassy dynamics. Dielectric investigations on the discotic liquid crystalline pyrene reveal that at the phase transition from the plastic crystalline to the hexagonal columnar liquid crystalline phase the molecular dynamics changes from a more strong to fragile temperature dependence of the relaxation rates. Moreover a combination of results obtained by specific heat spectroscopy with structural methods allows an estimation of the length scale relevant for the glass transition.