title: Colloid coalescence with focused x rays.
abstract: We show direct evidence that focused x rays enable us to merge polymer colloidal particles at room temperature. This phenomenon is ascribed to the photochemical scission of colloids with x rays, reducing the molecular weight, glass transition temperature, surface tension, and viscosity of colloids. The observation of the neck bridge growth with time shows that the x-ray-induced colloid coalescence is analogous to viscoelastic coalescence. This finding suggests a feasible protocol of photonic nanofabrication by sintering or welding of polymers, without thermal damage, using x-ray photonics.
authors.affiliation: X-ray Imaging Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Korea. bmweon@hotmail.com
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Weon
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Je
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: W-K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Lee