Engineering team identifies emergence of surprising layers in nanomaterial

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A rendering of a nanoscopically thin film of P3HT, a polymer whose lightweight flexibility and ability to conduct electricity has positioned it as a candidate material for next-gen electronics. Nebraska researchers have found that melting and cooling the material can lead to the emergence of two layers with differing properties that could be tailored to various electronic devices. (American Chemical Society)
A rendering of a nanoscopically thin film of P3HT, a polymer whose lightweight flexibility and ability to conduct electricity has positioned it as a candidate material for next-gen electronics. Nebraska researchers have found that melting and cooling the material can lead to the emergence of two layers with differing properties that could be tailored to various electronic devices. (American Chemical Society)

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By melting a polymer and watching it cool through the lenses of light and X-rays, a team of Nebraska Engineering researchers have discovered hidden depths in a material hundreds of times thinner than a human hair.

Those depths — specifically, an ultra-thin crust and the mantle beneath it — can solidify and crystallize in different ways, the team found. The differences are more than superficial: They can alter the transport of electric charges and other technologically relevant properties of the polymer, which is known as P3HT and features a lightweight flexibility that appeals to designers of next-gen electronics.

Lucía Fernández-Ballester and her colleagues hope that observing and reporting the never-before-seen intricacies of P3HT’s crystallization will ultimately help engineers adapt the material into a low-cost workhorse suited to certain transistors, sensors and a host of other components.



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