Accelerated Aging in Ultrathin Films of a Molecular Glass Former

A. Sepúlveda, E. Leon-Gutierrez, M. Gonzalez-Silveira, C. Rodríguez-Tinoco, M. T. Clavaguera-Mora, and J. Rodríguez-Viejo
Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 025901 – Published 7 July 2011
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Abstract

We report the thermodynamic measurement of the enthalpy released during the aging of supported films of a molecular glass former, toluene, at temperatures well below the glass transition temperature. By using microfabricated devices with very short equilibration times (below 1 s), we evidence a remarkable variation of the relaxation rate on decreasing film thickness from 100 nm down to a 7 nm thick film. Our results demonstrate that surface atoms are more efficient than bulk atoms in attaining low energy configurations within the potential energy landscape.

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  • Received 4 February 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.025901

© 2011 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

A. Sepúlveda1, E. Leon-Gutierrez1, M. Gonzalez-Silveira1, C. Rodríguez-Tinoco1, M. T. Clavaguera-Mora1, and J. Rodríguez-Viejo1,2,*

  • 1Nanomaterials and Microsystems Group, Physics Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
  • 2MATGAS Research Center, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain

  • *Corresponding author. javier.rodriguez@uab.es

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Issue

Vol. 107, Iss. 2 — 8 July 2011

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