Microdomain Transformations in Mosaic Mesocrystal Thin Films. (23rd October 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jiang, Yuan; Gong, Haofei; Grzywa, Maciej; Volkmer, Dirk; Gower, Laurie; Cölfen, Helmut
• Is Part Of: Advanced functional materials. Volume 23:Number 12(2013)
• Page Start: 1547
• Page End: 1555
• Publication Date: 2012-10-23
• Subjects: Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201202294
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1616-301X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>An easy design route via simple evaporation is reported for macroscopic mosaic thin films comprising the quaternary system of <sc>dl</sc>‐lysine·HCl, poly(acrylic acid), water, and EtOH. By depositing droplets of the quaternary dispersions onto hydrophilic cover slips, the formation of macroscopic crack‐free mosaic mesocrystal thin films are produced. The formation follows a multistage crystallization process, which includes the formation of a polymer‐induced liquid‐precursor (PILP) phase, the formation of spherulitic thin films, and the recrystallization of mosaic mesocrystal thin films. A slow cooling rate is noted to be beneficial for the mesocrystal thin films, enabling the films to be crack‐free and to display low surface roughness at the nanoscale.</p> </abstract>