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Ultrastable nanostructured polymer glasses

Nature Materials volume 11, pages 337–343 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

Owing to the kinetic nature of the glass transition, the ability to significantly alter the properties of amorphous solids by the typical routes to the vitreous state is restricted. For instance, an order of magnitude change in the cooling rate merely modifies the value of the glass transition temperature (Tg) by a few degrees. Here we show that matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) can be used to form ultrastable and nanostructured glassy polymer films which, relative to the standard poly(methyl methacrylate) glass formed on cooling at standard rates, are 40% less dense, have a 40 K higher Tg, and exhibit a two orders of magnitude enhancement in kinetic stability at high temperatures. The unique set of properties of MAPLE-deposited glasses may make them attractive in technologies where weight and stability are central design issues.

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Figure 1: Effect of processing method on the glass transition temperature of PMMA.
Figure 2: Structure and elasticity of MAPLE-deposited PMMA films.
Figure 3: Dependence of thermal and kinetic stability of MAPLE-deposited PMMA on substrate temperature.
Figure 4: Morphology of MAPLE-deposited PMMA films.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge support of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center program through the Princeton Center for Complex Materials (DMR-0819860) and usage of the PRISM Imaging and Analysis Center at Princeton University. R.D.P. acknowledges partial support from the NSF through a CAREER Award (DMR-1053144). We thank R. A. Register and P. G. Debenedetti for their comments during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA

    Yunlong Guo, Jae Woo Chung, Chuan Zhang & Rodney D. Priestley

  2. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA

    Anatoli Morozov & Craig B. Arnold

  3. Max Planck Institut für Polymerforschung, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany

    Dirk Schneider & George Fytas

  4. Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA

    Maike Waldmann, Nan Yao, Craig B. Arnold & Rodney D. Priestley

  5. Department of Materials Science, University of Crete and FORTH., Heraklion, P.O. Box 1527, 71110, Greece

    George Fytas

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  1. Yunlong Guo
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Contributions

Y.G. designed and set up the MAPLE system, performed experiments on MAPLE, DSC, GPC, NMR, WAXS, XRR, refractive index, temperature-dependent AFM, discussed and analysed the results and wrote the manuscript. A.M. designed the MAPLE system, and carried out laser calibration and trouble-shooting. D.S. performed BLS and SEM measurements. J.W.C. performed NMR and WAXS measurements and discussed the results. C.Z. performed MAPLE experiments. M.W. performed FTIR and AFM measurements. N.Y. assisted in WAXS and XRR characterization and provided equipment for temperature control on AFM. G.F. coordinated the BLS study, discussed results and commented on the manuscript. C.B.A. coordinated the set up of the MAPLE system, discussed the results and commented on the manuscript. R.D.P. conceived the idea, coordinated the project, discussed the results and wrote the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rodney D. Priestley.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Guo, Y., Morozov, A., Schneider, D. et al. Ultrastable nanostructured polymer glasses. Nature Mater 11, 337–343 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3234

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