Induction of Molecular Organization of Oligomers by Low‐Energy Electrons

We reveal that a beam of low‐energy electrons (18 eV) can directly trigger long‐range molecular ordering of an amorphous, semi‐flexible oligomer in a few minutes without the prerequisite of pre‐orientation. A strong endothermic transition was detected with a micro‐thermal analyzer on the areas that had been exposed to the electron irradiation while the areas that were shielded from the irradiation by a protective mask remained amorphous as usual. This result suggests that long‐range molecular ordering only develops in the area of the oligomer film under electron irradiation. This is the first‐time effort to use electron irradiation to control the long‐range ordering of an amorphous organic thin film above the glass transition temperature.