The ejection and transport of polymer molecules and carbon nanotubes in matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE)

(Click on images to view animations)

MAPLE of polymer molecules

Polymer concentration of 1 wt.%
Polymer concentration of 6 wt.%

MAPLE of carbon nanotubes (CNTs)

2D random arrangement of 44 nm long CNTs at concentration of 8 wt.%
2D random arrangement of 150 nm long CNTs at concentration of 17 wt.%
Network of bundles composed of 150 nm long CNTs at concentration of 17 wt.%
Animated sequences of snapshots that can be viewed by clicking on the above images show the initial stage of the ejection and transport of polymer molecules and carbon nanotubes in matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE), a technique used for deposition of polymer thin films and nanocomposites. The units of polymer chains are shown as blue particles, the nanotubes are shown as red cylinders and the matrix molecules are shown as small gray dots.
The simulations shown above are described in this paper:

L. V. Zhigilei, A. N. Volkov, E. Leveugle, and M. Tabetah, The effect of the target structure and composition on the ejection and transport of polymer molecules and carbon nanotubes in matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation, Appl. Phys. A 105, 529-546, 2011.
Full Text: PDF (7.6 MB), doi:10.1007/s00339-011-6595-6

Additional references for molecular dynamics simulations of MAPLE of polymer solutions:

E. Leveugle and L. V. Zhigilei, Molecular dynamics simulation study of the ejection and transport of polymer molecules in matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation, J. Appl. Phys. 102, 074914, 2007.
Full Text: PDF (4.27 MB)

E. Leveugle, A. Sellinger, J. M. Fitz-Gerald, and L. V. Zhigilei, Making molecular balloons in laser-induced explosive boiling of polymer solutions, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 216101, 2007.
Full Text: PDF (650 kB)

E. Leveugle, L. V. Zhigilei, A. Sellinger, and J. M. Fitz-Gerald, Computational and experimental study of the cluster size distribution in MAPLE, Appl. Surf. Sci. 253, 6456-6460, 2007.
Full Text: PDF (955 kB)

A. Sellinger, E. Leveugle, J. M. Fitz-Gerald, L. V. Zhigilei, Generation of surface features in films deposited by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation: the effects of the stress confinement and droplet landing velocity, Appl. Phys. A 92, 821-829, 2008.
Full Text: PDF (1.72 MB)

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants CMMI-0800786 and CBET-1033919.
 Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.