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ATMOSPHERIC-PRESSURE in situ PLASMA REDUCTION AND PATTERNING OF METAL-ION CONTAINING POLYMERS

Ghosh, Souvik
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9647-7967
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1490872201148598

Abstract Details

2017, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Chemical Engineering.
In this dissertation, we are describing a plasma based approach to fabricate electrical conductors on the surface of thin polymer films. We incorporated a direct-write approach derived from additive manufacturing techniques that minimizes wastage; and a post-patterning thin film removal and transfer protocol derived from subtractive manufacturing techniques. Using such a hybrid protocol, we made electrically conducting patterns embedded at the surface of polymeric thin films or deposited on affordable non-rigid substrates such as paper without incorporating the complexities of making a stabilized nanoparticle ink or high temperature annealing. In this first section of this dissertation, we describe the fabrication of thin films of polyacrylic acid after mixing silver nitrate in solution and blade casting them as thin films. The DC and AC argon microplasma based direct-write patterning was performed after mounting these films on a programmable x-y stage. Microplasma exposure lead to the formation of electrically conductive patterns of reduced and percolated silver nanoparticles. Further, by incorporating an elastomer as the support structure for the thin films enabled us to fabricate stretchable electrical conductors. We discovered an electrodiffusion phenomena whereby the plasma can drive the silver ions from the bulk of the film to the surface leading to percolation of reduced silver nanostructures. In the later part of the dissertation, we describe our efforts to understand the plasma reduction process by exposing these thin films to a controlled atmospheric-pressure and low-pressure plasma. It was found that photons from the plasma alone cannot reduce the nanoparticles. Instead, it was found that nanoparticle agglomeration and percolation depend on both, the properties of the thin film such as concentration and thickness, and the plasma operating parameters such as pressure, exposure time, and period and duty cycle of the driving pulse. We conclude that the harmonious effect of all these parameters contribute to controlling the particle size, number density and distribution of the nanoparticles at the surface of the polymer.
R. Mohan Sankaran, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Daniel Lacks, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Rohan Akolkar, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Christian Zorman, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Philip X-L. Feng, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Chemical Engineering; Materials Science; Nanoscience; Plasma Physics
Microplasma, Electrodiffusion, Silver, Percolation, Electrical Conduction, Stretchable Conductor

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Ghosh, S. (2017). ATMOSPHERIC-PRESSURE in situ PLASMA REDUCTION AND PATTERNING OF METAL-ION CONTAINING POLYMERS [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1490872201148598

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ghosh, Souvik. ATMOSPHERIC-PRESSURE in situ PLASMA REDUCTION AND PATTERNING OF METAL-ION CONTAINING POLYMERS. 2017. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1490872201148598.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ghosh, Souvik. "ATMOSPHERIC-PRESSURE in situ PLASMA REDUCTION AND PATTERNING OF METAL-ION CONTAINING POLYMERS." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1490872201148598

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.