title: Induction of molecular organization of oligomers by low-energy electrons.
abstract: We reveal that a beam of low-energy electrons (18 eV) can directly trigger long-range molecular ordering of an amorphous, semi-flexible oligomer in a few minutes without the prerequisite of pre-orientation. A strong endothermic transition was detected with a micro-thermal analyzer on the areas that had been exposed to the electron irradiation while the areas that were shielded from the irradiation by a protective mask remained amorphous as usual. This result suggests that long-range molecular ordering only develops in the area of the oligomer film under electron irradiation. This is the first-time effort to use electron irradiation to control the long-range ordering of an amorphous organic thin film above the glass transition temperature.
authors: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
authors: Yiu-Ting Richard
authors: YT
authors: Lau
authors: Lu-Tao
authors: LT
authors: Weng
authors: Kai-Mo
authors: KM
authors: Ng
authors: Manuel
authors: M
authors: Kempf
authors: Volker
authors: V
authors: Altstädt
authors: Jerold M
authors: JM
authors: Schultz
authors: Chi-Ming
authors: CM
authors: Chan