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Strain-controlled switching kinetics of epitaxial PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 films
2013, Herklotz, A., Guo, E.-J., Biegalski, M.D., Christen, H.-M., Schultz, L., Dörr, K.
We investigate the effect of biaxial strain on the switching of ferroelectric thin films. The strain state of epitaxial PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 films is controlled directly and reversibly by the use of piezoelectric Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.72Ti0.28O3 (001) substrates. At small external electric fields, the films show switching characteristics consistent with a creep-like domain wall motion. In this regime, we find a huge decrease of the switching time under compressive strain. For larger external electric fields, the domain wall motion is in a depinning regime. The effect of compressive strain is more moderate in this region and shows a reduction in the switching kinetics.
Counterion condensation and effective charge of PAMAM dendrimers
2011, Böhme, U., Klenge, A., Hänel, B., Scheler, U.
PAMAM dendrimers are used as a model system to investigate the effects of counterion condensation and the effective charge for spherical polyelectrolytes. Because of their amino groups, PAMAM dendrimers are weak polyelectrolytes. Lowering the pH results in an increasing protonation of the amino groups which is monitored via the proton chemical shifts of the adjacent CH2 groups. The effective charge is determined from a combination of diffusion and electrophoresis NMR. The fraction of the charges, which are effective for the interaction with an external electric field or other charges, decreases with increasing generation (size) of the dendrimers.
Continuous electroosmotic sorting of particles in grooved microchannels
2017, Dubov, Alexander L., Molotilin, Taras Y., Vinogradova, Olga I.
We propose a novel microfluidic fractionation concept suitable for neutrally buoyant micron-sized particles. This approach takes advantage of the ability of grooved channel walls oriented at an angle to the direction of an external electric field to generate a transverse electroosmotic flow. Using computer simulations, we first demonstrate that the velocity of this secondary transverse flow depends on the distance from the wall, so neutrally buoyant particles, depending on their size and initial location, will experience different lateral displacements. We then optimize the geometry and orientation of the surface texture of the channel walls to maximize the efficiency of particle fractionation. Our method is illustrated in a full scale computer experiment where we mimic the typical microchannel with a bottom grooved wall and a source of polydisperse particles that are carried along the channel by the forward electroosmotic flow. Our simulations show that the particle dispersion can be efficiently separated by size even in a channel that is only a few texture periods long. These results can guide the design of novel microfluidic devices for efficient sorting of microparticles.