We have developed a simple technique for the fabrication of polymer nanotubes with a monodisperse size distribution and uniform orientation. When either a polymer melt or solution is placed on a substrate with high surface energy, it will spread to form a thin film, known as a precursor film, similar to the behavior of low molar mass liquids (1, 2). Similar wetting phenomena occur if porous tem...

ilicon Carbonitride (SiCN) is a novel polymer derived ceramic material, which is not only mechanically, chemically and thermally robust, but also possesses functional properties. These properties yields SiCN as an excellent choice for sensor applications in high temperatures with harsh chemical conditions. The principal objective of the research is to develop the underlying materials science fo...

Submitted for the MAR10 Meeting of The American Physical Society Phase equilibria in polymer-blend thin films NIGEL CLARKE, MIREILLE SOUCHE, Durham University — To describe equilibrium concentration profiles in thin films of polymer mixtures, we propose a Hamiltonian formulation of the Flory-Huggins-de Gennes theory describing a polymer blend thin film. We first focus on the case of 50:50 polym...

A technique has been developed to fabricate polymeric helices with sub-micron dimensions. These helices are made using a double-templating process, in which an inorganic thin film deposited using glancing angle deposition acts as the master. The shape, pitch, handedness and number of turns of the polymer helices can be tuned by altering the deposition parameters of the master film. The structur...

Molecular-dynamics simulations were used to study the response of a nanometer thin polymer film to oscillatory shear. Several types of response occur, depending on the amplitude of the shear. At low amplitude, the film deforms elastically. At intermediate ones it deforms plastically. Short-range stress-induced structured crystalline domains occur. This flexible elastic state is very dynamic. Th...

With the demand for turbomachinery to operate at higher speeds, loads, and power, fluid film bearings that support turbomachinery must be capable of operating in these more demanding applications. Thrust bearings operating at high speeds and loads can experience high surface temperatures and thin fluid film thickness. Typically, babbitt (white metal) is the bearing lining material for most turb...

The drying process of polymer solutions coated on a flat substrate is very important in various industrial applications. We have proposed and modified a model of the drying process of a polymer solution coated on a flat substrate for uniform polymer film deposition. We used the model to control the thickness of a thin film after drying through management of the temperature, evaporation, and con...

Mercury-thin film electrodes coated with a thin film of poly(ester sulphonic acid) (PESA) have been investigated for application in the analysis of trace heavy metals by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry using the batch injection analysis (BIA) technique. Different polymer dispersion concentrations in water/acetone mixed solvent are investigated and are characterised by electrochemical i...

We report on conjugated polymer nanoparticles of polyfluorene that were formed to exhibit higher fluorescence quantum efficiency in film (68%) and reduce undesired emission peak wavelength shifts in film (by 20 nm), compared to the solid-state polymer thin film made directly out of the same polymer solution without forming nanoparticles. Using the facile reprecipitation method, solutions of pol...

An ultrafast, parallel, and beyond-the-master micropatterning technique for ultrathin (30-400 nm) nonabsorbing polymer films by diffraction of laser light through a 2D periodic aperture is reported. The redistribution of laser energy absorbed by the substrate causes self-organization of polymer thin films in the form of wrinklelike surface relief structures caused by localized melting and freez...