Annealing

Abstract

The annealing of plastics can be defined as a secondary process wherein the plastic is brought to a certain temperature, kept there for a time, and then cooled to room temperature. The primary reasons for annealing include the reduction or removal or residual stresses and strains, dimensional stabilization, reduction or elimination of defects, and improvement of physical properties.

Transformation of Block Copolymer Nanoparticles from Ellipsoids with Striped Lamellae into Onionlike Spheres and Dynamical Control via Coupled Cahn–Hilliard Equations

“…Annealing is commonly used to modify the orientation and symmetry of polymeric nanoparticles. , Common types of annealing include thermal annealing and solvent annealing. Surfactant addition is another method that influences the morphology and shape of the particles by modifying the interfacial interaction between the BCP and the surrounding medium.…”

Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic Carbosilane-Based Block Copolymers in Organic Media and Structure Formation in Colloidal Confinement

“…After the treatment at 40 °C (Figure b), which is higher than the melting temperature T m of PDMSB according to the DSC thermogram (Figure S4), the outer edges of the micelles appeared to be sharper and darker compared to the nonannealed sample (Figure a). It is assumed that the melting of the PDMSB segment promoted an enhanced chain mobility, as known for the thermal annealing of BCP thin films. − The temperature treatment, however, did not change the overall shape of the particles. This might be due to the stabilizing effects of the P2VP matrix with a glass transition temperature of 99 °C preventing a change of the overall shape.…”

Kinetically Limited Bulk Polymerization of Polymer Thin Films by Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition

“…To fabricate thin-film polymers, a common method is to dissolve the bulk polymer into a liquid solvent and then apply the polymer solution onto the surface, for example, by dip-casting or spin-coating. The solvent is subsequently evaporated, and the dried polymer may be heated further to promote annealing and film forming. , However, solvent-based methods suffer from drawbacks such as uneven film coating, solvent incompatibility with the underlying substrate, difficulties in coating intricate three-dimensional substrates, solvent toxicity, and residual solvent that negatively impacts polymer properties. In contrast, solvent-free methods, which in particular initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD), have been demonstrated to deposit thin polymer films while sidestepping the drawbacks of conventional solvent-based techniques. − The lack of a solvent allows pristine polymer films free of solvent residue to form, mitigates material damage from liquid surface tension forces, and enables monomer functional groups to be preserved, leading to more robust polymer properties. − The solvent-free process also leads to the deposition of highly conformal (matching surface topology) and uniform (even thickness throughout) polymer thin films onto both planar and nonplanar surfaces.…”

“…The solvent is subsequently evaporated, and the dried polymer may be heated further to promote annealing and film forming. 5 , 6 However, solvent-based methods suffer from drawbacks such as uneven film coating, solvent incompatibility with the underlying substrate, difficulties in coating intricate three-dimensional substrates, solvent toxicity, and residual solvent that negatively impacts polymer properties. In contrast, solvent-free methods, which in particular initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD), have been demonstrated to deposit thin polymer films while sidestepping the drawbacks of conventional solvent-based techniques.…”