Thermal conductivity of nanopatterned polymer thin films

能量的释放和吸收是所有技术应用的基础，其次是温度或局部能量的变化。因此，易于管理，成本效益和环境友好的热管理材料是纳米技术，电信和能量收集的众多应用中最需要的。聚合物在参数窗口中满足这些标准，使高冲击材料能够在上述领域中使用。特别是，在聚合物中可实现的热导率从0.1到104 W m-1 K-1的大范围内，主要取决于它们的排列，使它们成为有前途的热管理材料。本提案的目的是研究嵌段共聚物（BCP）薄膜的取向和结构方面的热性能。BCP的微相分离将用于纳米尺度上的精确对准。对准将通过纳米压印光刻来指导，这导致更复杂的纳米结构。此外，通过引入金属纳米颗粒将实现聚合物薄膜的功能化。嵌段共聚物薄膜具有可控的各向异性和定向导热特性的潜力。据我们所知，这些图案化和功能化薄膜的关键研究仍然缺失，并且是拟议项目的目标。聚合物薄膜的结构将通过电子和原子力显微镜进行分析，以局部解析制备的结构，并在散射实验中进行分析。（X射线反射率和GISAXS），以获得关于面内和面外周期性、缺陷率和电子密度的全局信息。薄膜中的热传递将通过几种最先进的技术在面内和面外进行测量。结构和热特性的结合在纳米尺度上特别重要，因为它们的连接是理解能量传递过程的核心。

The release and absorption of energy is fundamental to all technological applications, followed by changes in temperature or in local energy. Therefore, easily manageable, cost efficient and environment-friendly materials for heat management are most wanted for numerous applications in nanotechnology, telecommunication and energy harvesting. Polymers fulfil these criteria in a window of parameters that enables high impact materials in the mentioned areas. In particular, the large range of achievable thermal conductivities in polymers from 0.1 to 104 W m-1 K-1, depending primarily on their alignment, makes them a promising material for heat management. The objective of this proposal is the study of thermal properties of block copolymer (BCPs) thin films with respect to alignment and structure. The microphase separation of BCPs will be used for a precise alignment on a nano scale. Alignment will be directed by nanoimprint lithography, which results in more complex nanostructures. Further, functionalization of the polymer thin films will be achieved by the introduction of metal nanoparticles. The BCP films have the potential for controlled anisotropic and directional thermal conductivity characteristics. To our knowledge these crucial studies of patterned and functionalized thin films are still missing and are the objective of the proposed project.The structure of the polymer thin films will be analysed by electron and atomic force microscopy to resolve locally the prepared structures, and in scattering experiments (x-ray reflectivity and GISAXS), to obtain global information about in-plane and out-of-plane periodicity, defectivity and electron density. Heat transfer in the thin films will be measured in-plane and out-of-plane by several state-of-the-art techniques. The combination of structural and thermal characterization is especially important in the nano scale since their connection lies at the heart of understanding energy transfer processes.