| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/M16245/01 |
| Title: |
SIZE & NUMBER DISTRIBUTIONS ANISOTROPY & CHEMICAL SURROUNDINGS OF FREE VOLUME HOLES IN POLYMERS |
| Principal Investigator: |
Alam, Professor MA |
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| Department: |
Physics |
| Organisation: |
University of Bristol |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
20 March 1999 |
Ends: |
19 December 2002 |
Value (£): |
172,982
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Chemicals |
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The existence of the so called free volume holes in polymers, arising from the structural disorder in these materials, dominates a large variety of application related properties. Although the concept of sub-nanometre free volume cavities are often invoked in explaining polymer behaviour, there is little direct information about their sizes, size-distributions and volume fractions. Consequently there is a scarcity of direct correlation between polymer properties and the characterises of the hole volumes. This is due to the lack of a suitably sensitive probe of the required (atomic) dimension. A detailed knowledge of these cavities is also crucial to theoretical modelling of polymer properties.In recent years, positronium annihilation spectroscopy has provided a unique sub-atomic probe to study the size/shape and size distributions, of such cavities in polymers. The technique has been further developed by the Bristol Positron Group to allow the possible evaluation of the chemical environments of these hole volumes. Using position/positron annihilation, we aim to study the following properties of the polymer free volume: (i) Hole volume anisotropies arising from synthesis procedure or post synthesis treatment. (ii) Further development of the technique to probe the chemical nature of the hole volumes and (iii) application of (ii) to practical problems.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.bris.ac.uk |