A Wafer of Polyethylene: Ultrathin polyethylene films made of nanocrystals

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Caught on film: Ultrathin (50 nm) films of crystalline polyethylene were prepared at room temperature from prefabricated polymer nanocrystals functioning as building blocks. The very small particle size in combination with the phenomenon that the amo ...
Caught on film: Ultrathin (50 nm) films of crystalline polyethylene were prepared at room temperature from prefabricated polymer nanocrystals functioning as building blocks. The very small particle size, in combination with the phenomenon that the amorphous regions are located at the surface exclusively in polymer single crystals, results in efficient interaction between particles in the films. Credit: (C) Wiley-VCH 2008

Layers of plastic, much thinner than a strand of hair—this type of ultrathin polymer film is of great interest to scientists and engineers. Applications include protective coatings, for example. A research team led by Stefan Mecking at the University of Konstanz has now developed a new method to produce wafer-thin layers. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the scientists made their films from individual prefabricated nanocrystal building blocks.


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