We developed a quantitative measurement technique using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the effects of both DC and AC external electric fields on the forces between two dielectric microspheres. In this work we measured the DC and AC electric field-induced forces and adhesion force between two barium titanate (BaTiO?) glass microspheres in a low humidity environment by this technique. The objective here is to find out the correlation between these measured forces and applied field strength, frequency, and the separation distance between the two spheres was studied. Since the spheres would oscillate under an AC field, the AC field-induced force was divided into dynamic component (i.e., time-varying term) and static component (i.e., time-averaged term) to investigate. The oscillatory response occurs at a frequency that is twice the drive frequency since the field-induced force is theoretically proportional to the square of the applied field. This behavior can be observed in the fast Fourier transformation (FFT) spectra of the time series of the deflection signal. The magnitude of the vibration response increases when the frequency of the drive force is near resonant frequency of the particle-cantilever probe. The amplitude of this vibration increases with proximity of the two particles, and ultimately causes the particles to repeatedly hit each other as in tapping mode AFM. The effect of the Maxwell-Wagner interfacial relaxation on the DC electric field-induced force was discovered by monitoring the variation of the field-induced force with time. The static component of the AC electric field-induced force does not vary with the applied frequency in the range from 1 to 100 kHz, suggesting that the crossover frequency may equal to or less than 1 kHz and the permittivities of the BaTiO? glass microspheres and medium dominate the field-3 induced force. The AC field-induced force is proportional to the square of the applied electric field strength. This relationship persists even when the separation between the spheres is much smaller than the diameter of the microspheres. The large magnitude of the force at small separations suggests that the local field is distorted by the presence of a second particle, and the continued dependence on the square of the field but the measured force is much larger than the theoretical results, suggesting that the local electric field around the closely spaced spheres is distorted and enhanced but the effects of the local field distortion may have not much to with the applied electric field. Compared with the calculated results from different models, our results demonstrate that the field-induced force is much more long-range than expected in theory. In addition, the DC field-induced adhesion force is larger than the AC field-induced one due to the interfacial charge accumulation, agreeing with the discovery of the Maxwell-Wagner interfacial relaxation effect on the DC field-induced force. No obvious correlation between the field-induced adhesion and the applied frequency is found. However, both the DC and AC field-induced adhesion forces display the linearity with the square of the applied electric field strength as well. / Master of Science

Miniemulsionen bestehen aus zwei miteinander nicht mischbaren Flüssigkeiten, von der die eine in Form kleiner Tröpfchen fein in der anderen verteilt (dispergiert) ist. Miniemulsionströpfchen sind mit Durchmessern von ungefähr 0,1 Mikrometer kleiner als herkömmliche Emulsionen und können u. a. als voneinander unabhängige Nanoreaktoren für chemische Reaktionen verwendet werden. Man unterteilt sie in direkte Miniemulsionen, in denen ein Öl in Wasser dispergiert ist, und inverse Miniemulsionen, in denen Wasser in Öl dispergiert wird. In dieser Arbeit wird das besondere chemische und physikalische Verhalten solcher Miniemulsionen unter dem Einfluß von Mikrowellenstrahlung untersucht. Dabei werden sowohl für Öl-in-Wasser als auch für Wasser-in-Öl-Miniemulsionen grundlagenwissenschaftliche Entdeckungen beschrieben und durch neue Modelle erklärt. Der praktische Nutzen dieser bislang unbeschriebenen Effekte wird durch ingenieurwissenschaftliche Anwendungsbeispiele im Bereich der Polymerchemie verdeutlicht. <br><br> 1. Polymerisation mit "überlebenden Radikalen" (Surviving Radical Polymerization)<br> Für die Herstellung von sog. Polymerlatizes (Kunststoffdispersionen, wie sie u. a. für Farben verwendet werden) aus direkten Styrol-in-Wasser Miniemulsionen werden die Styroltröpfchen als Nanoreaktoren verwendet: Sie werden mit Hilfe von Radikalen durch eine Kettenreaktion zu winzigen Polymerpartikeln umgesetzt, die im Wasser dispergiert sind. Ihre Materialeigenschaften hängen stark von der Kettenlänge der Polymermoleküle ab. In dieser Arbeit konnten durch den Einsatz von Mikrowellenstrahlung erstmals große Mengen an Radikalen erzeugt werden, die jeweils einzeln in Tröpfchen (Nanoreaktoren) auch noch lange Zeit nach dem Verlassen der Mikrowelle überleben und eine Polymerisationskettenreaktion ausführen können. Diese Methode ermöglicht nicht nur die Herstellung von Polymeren in technisch zuvor unerreichbaren Kettenlängen, mit ihr sind auch enorm hohe Umsätze nach sehr kurzen Verweilzeiten in der Mikrowelle möglich – denn die eigentliche Reaktion findet außerhalb statt. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass durch Einsatz von Zusatzstoffen bei unvermindert hohem Umsatz die Polymerkettenlänge variiert werden kann. Die technischen Vorzüge dieses Verfahrens konnten in einer kontinuierlich betriebenen Pilotanlage nachgewiesen werden. <br><br> 2. Aufheizverhalten inverser Miniemulsionen in Mikrowellenöfen<br> Das Aufheizverhalen von Wasser-in-Öl Miniemulsionen mit kleinen Durchmessern durch Mikrowellen ist überaus träge, da sich nur das wenige Wasser in den Tröpfchen mit Mikrowellen aufheizen lässt, das Öl jedoch kaum. Solche Systeme verhalten sich gemäß der "Theorie des effektiven Mediums". Werden aber etwas größere Tröpfchen im Mikrometerbereich Mikrowellen ausgesetzt, so konnte eine wesentlich schnellere Aufheizung beobachtet werden, die auf eine Maxwell-Wagner-Grenzflächenpolarisation zurückgeführt werden kann. Die Größenabhängigkeit dieses Effekts wurde mit Hilfe der dielektrischen Spektroskopie quantifiziert und ist bislang in der Literatur nie beschrieben worden. Zur genauen Messung dieses Effekts und zu seiner technischen Nutzung wurde ein neuartiges Membranverfahren für die Herstellung von großen Miniemulsionströpfchen im Mikrometerbereich entwickelt. <br><br> 3. Herstellung von Kompositpolymeren für Mikrowellenanwendungen<br> Um die untersuchte Maxwell-Wagner-Grenzflächenpolarisation technisch nutzen zu können, wurden als dafür geeignete Materialien Kompositpolymere hergestellt. Das sind Kunststoffe, in denen winzige Wassertropfen oder Keramikpartikel eingeschlossen sind. Dazu wurden neuartige Synthesewege auf der Grundlage der Miniemulsionstechnik entwickelt. Ihr gemeinsames Ziel ist die Einschränkung der üblicherweise bei Polymerisation auftretenden Entmischung: In einem Verfahren wurde durch Gelierung die Beweglichkeit der emulgierten Wassertröpfchen eingeschränkt, in einem anderen wurde durch das Einschließen von Keramikpartikeln in Miniemulsionströpfchen die Entmischung auf deren Größe beschränkt. Anwendungen solcher Kompositpolymere könnten künstliche Muskeln, die Absorption von Radarstrahlung, z. B. für Tarnkappenflugzeuge, oder kratzfeste Lacke sein.<br><br>Bei diesen Experimenten wurde beobachtet, daß sich u. U. in der Miniemulsion große Tröpfchen bilden. Ihr Ursprung wird mit einer neuen Modellvorstellung erklärt, die die Einflüsse auf die Stabilität von Miniemulsionen beschreibt. / Miniemulsions are composed of two immiscible fluids. One of which is distributed as small droplets (dispersed) in the other one. Having diameters of down to 0.05 micrometers, droplets of miniemulsions are smaller than those of conventional emulsions. Among other applications, they can be employed as independent nano-reactors for chemical reactions. They are subdivided in direct miniemulsions, for which an oil is dispersed in an aqueous phase, and inverse miniemulsions, for which water is dispersed in an oil phase. In this work, the specific chemical and physical behaviour of miniemulsions under the influence of microwave-radiation was investigated. For water-in-oil as well as for oil-in-water miniemulsions fundamental discoveries are described and explained by new models. The practical importance of these new effects is exemplified by applications in the field of polymer-chemistry. <br><br> 1. Polymerization with "surviving radicals"<br> For the production of so-called polymer-latices (dispersions of plastics, as they are used in paints and coatings) from direct styrene-in-water miniemulsions, the styrene-droplets can be considered as separate nano-reactors. Upon radical polymerization, they may be transformed to polymer particles dispersed in water in a 1:1 conversion. Their material properties strongly depend on the chain-length of the polymer molecules. In this work, using microwave radiation, for the first time great quantities of radicals could be generated that survive within the individual droplets (nano-reactors) even for a long time after leaving the microwave oven, carrying out polymerization. This method is suited for the production of polymers with great chain-lengths that cannot be obtained with other technically relevant methods. Moreover, it yields great conversion after very short residence-times in the microwave-oven: the actual reaction takes place outside of the oven. Employing additives allows the variation of chain-length at the same great net rates of conversion. The technical promises of this method could be demonstrated in a continuously operated pilot plant. <br><br> 2. Heating behaviour of inverse miniemulsions with microwave-radiation<br> The heating of water-in-oil miniemulsions with small droplets using microwaves is very slow, as only the water absorbs microwave-radiation and not the oil. The system behaves according to the "effective medium theory". If slightly larger droplets with diameters of about a micron are subjected to microwaves, they are being heated much more readily, which can be attributed to a Maxwell-Wagner-effect. The size-dependence of this effect has never been described in the literature. It could be quantified with dielectric spectroscopy. For the controlled production of big miniemulsion droples on the micron-scale and for the technical application of the size-dependence, a continuously operated membrane-emulsification device was developed. <br><br> 3. Production of composite polymers for microwave-applications<br> Suitable composite polymers were produced in order to technically exploit the size-dependence of the Maxwell-Wagner-effect. They may contain sub-micron sized water droplets or ceramic nanoparticles. For their synthesis, new strategies on the basis of miniemulsion-systems were developped, which avoid the usual phase-separation upon polymerization. In one approach, the mobility of the dispersed water droplets was limited through the gelation of the oil phase, in another approach phase separation of ceramic nanoparticles entrapped within miniemulsion droplets was restricted to the dimensions of the droplets. Applications of such composite polymers could be the development of artificial muscles, the absorption of radar radiation (e.g. for stealth applications) or scratch-resistant coatings.<br><br> In these experiments the existence of stable big droplets in miniemulsions was discovered. Their origin can be explained by a new model that describes the influences on miniemulsion stability.

Spin systems with low dimensionality and geometrical frustration have attracted interest because of the possible emergence of novel magnetic phases at low temperatures by suppressing conventional magnetic order, and allow for a novel spin-disordered ground state, such as quantum spin liquid and glass without any apparent structural disorder. In this thesis, we have discussed magnetic and dielectric measurements on the quasi-two-dimensional triangular antiferromagnet NiGa2S3.85, in order to investigate its magnetic state and dielectric property at low temperatures. In the measurement of susceptibility In the measurement of susceptibility £q(T), we found that the freezing temperature is near 6 K. This suggests that the sample with the sulfur deficiency should be close to the stoichiometric NiGa2S3.85. Under 7 T magnetic filed ZFC(zero-field-cooling) and FC(field-cooling) still bifurcate indicating more magnetic order state than spin-liquid. Temperature-dependent dielectric measurement shows an interesting colossal enhancement of dielectric constant with frequency dispersion and is ascribed to the interfacial polarization (termed as Maxwell-Wagner relaxation) at the interface between adjacent layers. Temperature-dependent dielectric measurement under applied magnetic field (up to 9 T) shows negligible magnetodielectric behavior because of the sample is not magneto resistive.

No description available.

Dans une première partie, une nouvelle méthodologie, précise et hautement sensible de caractérisation des paramètres thermiques de liquides par radiométrie photothermique est ici présentée. Deux configurations expérimentales sont proposées. Elles ont été testées et validées avec des matériaux liquides usuels aux paramètres thermiques connus. Par la suite, cette démarche a été utilisée pour l'étude de polymères dispersés dans des cristaux liquides. Les propriétés thermiques dynamiques de chaque échantillon ont été mesurées en fonction de l'amplitude du champ électrique appliqué à une fréquence donnée aussi bien qu'en fonction de la fréquence du champ électrique à une amplitude fixe. Cette étude a montré que les propriétés thermiques étaient sujettes aux effets du champ de dépolarisation aux basses fréquences. La seconde partie de ce manuscrit décrit la nouvelle technique photothermique basée sur l'effet thermoélectrique. Cette technique est utile pour caractériser thermiquement les matériaux thermoélectriques sans avoir à recourir à un capteur extérieur pour mesurer le changement de température. Une étude théorique et expérimentale est présentée. Ces expériences ont été réalisées avec des composites polyaniline/nanotubes de carbone par mesure de la tension générée par l'échantillon thermoélectrique chauffé par un faisceau laser. Des mesures additionnelles à l'aide de la radiométrie infrarouge sur ces mêmes échantillons ont été entreprises et les résultats sont en bon accord avec ceux précédemment trouvés. Enfin, la possibilité d'utiliser les matériaux thermoélectriques comme capteur photothermique au travers d'une cavité résonnante à ondes thermiques est évoquée. / Primarily, newly developed, high sensitive and accurate methods for thermal characterization of liquids using photothermal radiometry are presented. Two experimental configurations are suggested, tested and validated with usual liquid materials. These methods are used to study polymer dispersed liquid crystal samples. Dynamic thermal properties of samples are analysed verses amplitude varying applied electric field with constant frequency as well as versus frequency varying electric field with constant amplitude. Our results clearly show the thermal properties of the samples are prone to depolarizing field effects at the lower frequencies of the applied electric field. The experimental results are modeled against existing theories to predict electric properties of the sample composites. Second part of the manuscript describes the development of a novel photothermal technique based on thermoelectric effect. This technique is particularly useful for thermally characterizing thermoelectric materials without using a separate sensor for measuring induced temperature changes. A theoretical and experimental study is presented. The experiments are done on polyaniline - carbon nanotube composite pellets by measuring Seebeck voltage generated by the samples upon heating by a modulated laser beam. Additional infrared radiometry experiments are done on the same samples and the results are in good agreement with those previously found. Later on, the possibility of photothermoelectric materials to be used as sensors for finding thermal transport properties of materials with a thermal wave resonant cavity is suggested.

Primarily, newly developed, high sensitive and accurate methods for thermal characterization of liquids using photothermal radiometry are presented. Two experimental configurations are suggested, tested and validated with usual liquid materials. These methods are used to study polymer dispersed liquid crystal samples. Dynamic thermal properties of samples are analysed verses amplitude varying applied electric field with constant frequency as well as versus frequency varying electric field with constant amplitude. Our results clearly show the thermal properties of the samples are prone to depolarizing field effects at the lower frequencies of the applied electric field. The experimental results are modeled against existing theories to predict electric properties of the sample composites. Second part of the manuscript describes the development of a novel photothermal technique based on thermoelectric effect. This technique is particularly useful for thermally characterizing thermoelectric materials without using a separate sensor for measuring induced temperature changes. A theoretical and experimental study is presented. The experiments are done on polyaniline - carbon nanotube composite pellets by measuring Seebeck voltage generated by the samples upon heating by a modulated laser beam. Additional infrared radiometry experiments are done on the same samples and the results are in good agreement with those previously found. Later on, the possibility of photothermoelectric materials to be used as sensors for finding thermal transport properties of materials with a thermal wave resonant cavity is suggested.