We present the design and verification of a desktop system for the automated production of nanostructured thin films via spin-assisted layer-by-layer (spin-LBL) assembly. The utility of this system is demonstrated by fabricating polyvinyl alcohol/clay nanocomposites. Ellipsometry measurements demonstrate that the automated spin-LBL method creates composites with bilayer thickness and growth rate comparable to traditional dip-LBL; however, the cycle time of the spin-LBL method is an order of magnitude faster. Small angle X-ray scattering analysis shows that the clay platelets in spin-LBL nanocomposites are more highly aligned than in dip-LBL composites. This method can significantly increase the throughput of laboratory-scale LBL discovery and processing, can enable testing of functional properties of LBL nanocomposites over wafer-scale areas, and can be scaled to larger substrates for commercial production.
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February 2009
Research Article|
February 11 2009
Automated spin-assisted layer-by-layer assembly of nanocomposites
Steven Vozar;
Steven Vozar
1Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Michigan
, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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Yeh-Chuin Poh;
Yeh-Chuin Poh
1Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Michigan
, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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Thomas Serbowicz;
Thomas Serbowicz
1Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Michigan
, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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Matthew Bachner;
Matthew Bachner
1Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Michigan
, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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Paul Podsiadlo;
Paul Podsiadlo
a)
2Department of Chemical Engineering,
University of Michigan
, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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Ming Qin;
Ming Qin
2Department of Chemical Engineering,
University of Michigan
, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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Eric Verploegen;
Eric Verploegen
3Department of Materials Science and Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
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Nicholas Kotov;
Nicholas Kotov
2Department of Chemical Engineering,
University of Michigan
, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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A. John Hart
A. John Hart
1Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Michigan
, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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a)
Present address: Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439.
Rev. Sci. Instrum. 80, 023903 (2009)
Article history
Received:
November 11 2008
Accepted:
January 13 2009
Citation
Steven Vozar, Yeh-Chuin Poh, Thomas Serbowicz, Matthew Bachner, Paul Podsiadlo, Ming Qin, Eric Verploegen, Nicholas Kotov, A. John Hart; Automated spin-assisted layer-by-layer assembly of nanocomposites. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 1 February 2009; 80 (2): 023903. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3078009
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