Nanofluidics Approach to Separate between Static and Kinetic Nanoconfinement Effects on the Crystallization of Polymers

Afef Houachtia (1) , Pierre Alcouffe (1) , Gisèle Boiteux (1) , Gérard Seytre (1) , Jean-François Gérard (1) , Anatoli Serghei (1)

1 IMP - Ingénierie des Matériaux Polymères

Here we report a nanofluidics approach that allows one to discriminate, for the first time, between static and kinetic effects on the crystallization of polymers in 2-dimensional nanoconfinement. Nanofluidics cells designed to monitor in real time, via permittivity measurements, the flow process of polymers into cylindrical nanopores were employed to investigate the crystallization of poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) under static and under kinetic confinement conditions. A significant separation between static confinement effects and flow effects in confinement is reported. A characteristic time is deduced, to quantify the impact of flow on the crystallization process of polymers taking place under conditions of 2D geometrical nanoconfinement.

Mots clés: AAO membranes; Nanofluidics; confinement; crystallization of polymers; ferroelectric polymers; nanopores

Domaines: Polymères; Matériaux

Afef Houachtia, Pierre Alcouffe, Gisèle Boiteux, Gérard Seytre, Jean-François Gérard, et al.. Nanofluidics Approach to Separate between Static and Kinetic Nanoconfinement Effects on the Crystallization of Polymers. Nano Letters, 2015, 15, pp.4311-6. ⟨10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b00185⟩. ⟨hal-01179525⟩