1. Ion track etching of polycarbonate membranes monitored by in situ small angle X-ray scattering
- Author
-
Pablo Mota-Santiago, Patrick Kluth, Mark Grigg, Alexander Kiy, Christina Trautmann, C. Notthoff, A. Hadley, Maria Eugenia Toimil-Molares, Nigel Kirby, and Shankar Dutt
- Subjects
Materials science ,Analytical chemistry ,General Physics and Astronomy ,macromolecular substances ,02 engineering and technology ,010402 general chemistry ,01 natural sciences ,symbols.namesake ,stomatognathic system ,Etching (microfabrication) ,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry ,Polycarbonate ,Arrhenius equation ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,Scattering ,Small-angle X-ray scattering ,Ion track ,fungi ,technology, industry, and agriculture ,Polymer ,Orders of magnitude (numbers) ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,0104 chemical sciences ,chemistry ,visual_art ,symbols ,visual_art.visual_art_medium ,0210 nano-technology - Abstract
In situ small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements of ion track etching in polycarbonate foils are used to directly monitor the selective dissolution of ion tracks with high precision, including the early stages of etching. Detailed information about the track etching kinetics and size, shape, and size distribution of an ensemble of nanopores is obtained. Time resolved measurements as a function of temperature and etchant concentration show that the pore radius increases almost linearly with time for all conditions and the etching process can be described by an Arrhenius law. The radial etching shows a power law dependency on the etchant concentration. An increase in the etch rate with increasing temperature or concentration of the etchant reduces the penetration of the etchant into the polymer but does not affect the pore size distribution. The in situ measurements provide an estimate for the track etch rate, which is found to be approximately three orders of magnitude higher than the radial etch rate. The measurement methodology enables new experiments studying membrane fabrication and performance in liquid environments.
- Published
- 2021