Open AccessThe effect of molecular weight and deposition temperature on the formation of poly(ethylene oxide) films using the femtosecond pulsed laser deposition
Author(s) -
Fischer Dieter
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
polymer crystallization
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.443
H-Index - 9
ISSN - 2573-7619
DOI - 10.1002/pcr2.10153
Subject(s) - pulsed laser deposition , amorphous solid , materials science , polymer , ethylene oxide , femtosecond , deposition (geology) , oxide , thin film , chemical engineering , laser ablation , laser , analytical chemistry (journal) , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , chemistry , optics , composite material , copolymer , paleontology , physics , engineering , sediment , metallurgy , biology
Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) is a water‐soluble, linear polymer with a high quantity of available molecular weights and is in many ways used in daily life. Coatings and films are an important issue for these applications. In this study, PEO films with average molecular weights of 1500, 2000, 4000, 20,000, and 200,000 g/mol were deposited by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on substrates held at 25 and −190°C. At room temperature, crystalline PEO films are formed with properties that coincide well with the precursor materials including the films of PEO‐200,000, which contains chain lengths of around 1 μm. The deposition of PEO polymers at −190°C hinders the ordering in the films up to X‐ray amorphous films for both PEO‐20,000 and PEO‐200,000. Upon warming to room temperature, the films crystallizes in the expected configuration. Furthermore, the analysis of the ejected molecules during the ablation process demonstrates the favorable light matter interaction of the ultrashort laser pulses. The results reveal the high potential of the femtosecond PLD as an easy and clean pathway for the preparation of intact polymer films.