Neutron scattering and complementary investigations of fullerene solutions and polymer nanocomposites thin films
DIPC Seminars
- Speaker
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Timur Tropin, Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Russia
- When
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2020/12/04
13:00 - Place
- Online seminar, Donostia International Physics Center
- Add to calendar
-
iCal
The results of some recent investigations of several nanosystems using small-
angle neutron scattering and reflectometry, together with some related
research, will be presented.
Investigations of structural and kinetic aspects of fullerenes cluster growth
in various solutions will be described. Fullerenes develop a relatively good
solubility in a wide variety of liquids, with a number of applications and
interesting effects. Fullerene aggregates, with a complex multi-level
structure, form differently in the liquids of different polarity. The
structure of these aggregates was investigated using small-angle scattering,
while the kinetics of cluster growth and simultaneous processes were measured
using light scattering and spectrophotometry. Some theoretical modeling of
kinetics of cluster growth is also reported.
X-ray and neutron reflectometry experiments on thin films of polystyrene-
fullerene nanocomposites present an opportunity to investigate the dispersion
state of these nanoparticles inside polymer matrix. It is still not clear,
whether such small particles form the pre-substrate nanolayer (thickness ~3-5
nm) or should be uniformly dispersed in the matrix. Additionally, clusters
formation and growth in initial solutions plays a role. Our investigations of
thin films with fullerenes allowed to measure the thickness of the dense layer
and to compare it for C60/C70 nanoparticles. This work is also proceeding in
parallel with theoretical modeling of glass transition kinetics, which will be
briefly described.
Finally, some perspectives and future plans of research will be given as part
of the conclusions.
Host: Prof. Felix Fernandez Alonso
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