Sabine Ludwigs is a postdoctoral researcher in the Polyfilm network working at Cambridge University.
From 10/1997 to 02/2002 Sabine Ludwigs studied chemistry at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. During her diploma thesis (2002 under the supervision of Prof. Dr. G. Krausch and Prof. Dr. A. Mueller, University of Bayreuth) and Ph.D. thesis (2004 under the supervision of Prof. Dr. G. Krausch, University of Bayreuth) she systematically explored the fundamentals of microdomain formation of ABC triblock terpolymers in bulk and in thin films. As an interdisciplinary chemist between macromolecular and physical chemistry she performed detailed investigations ranging from synthesis towards possible applications. Via controlling the structure formation process tailored nanostructures could be formed. Particularly interesting was the formation of a highly ordered perforated lamella structure. This structure shows promising properties for lithographic masks, nanoporous membranes, and pH-responsive nanostructures.
Highly ordered perforated lamella structure. Taken from: S. Ludwigs, A. Boeker, A. Voronov, N. Rehse, R. Magerle, and G. Krausch Nature Materials 2003, 2, 744.
Her work included several stays at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, in the group of Dr. Guenter Reiter at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Mulhouse, France, under RTN-5 ‘Polynano’, and at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg.
Additionally she was involved with the following projects:
Large-scale alignment of microdomains by application of electric fields with in-situ SAXS measurements at the ESRF, Grenoble (see e.g. A. Böker; H. Elbs; H. Hänsel; A. Knoll; S. Ludwigs; H. Zettl; V. Urban; V. Abetz; A.H.E. Müller; G. Krausch, Phys. Rev. Lett.2002, 89, 1319.)
Investigation of the structure formation process of coil-rod block copolymers with a synthetic segment (polystyrene) and a polypeptide segment (poly(benzyl-L-glutamate) in confined geometry (see S. Ludwigs; G. Krausch; G. Reiter; M. Losik; M. Antonietti; H. Schlaad Macromolecules 2005, 38, 7532.)
The current project in the University of Cambridge involves the synthesis of new block copolymers via RAFT polymerization. Among other systems we are for example interested in the properties of polylactide-block-poly(fluorostyrene) block copolymers in thin films. Via alignment of the block copolymer domains in an electric field (previously shown for polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) by Thurn-Albrecht et al. Science2000, 290, 2126.) we are aiming to produce nanoporous templates via degrading the polylactide block with soft chemistry. The templates will then be used for the growth of inorganic materials, like CuO or ZnO via electroplating.
Biomimetic polymer-inorganic hybrid materials are prepared by employing the polymer templates as substrates to support growth of single crystals of calcite. This part of the project is performed in collaboration with Dr. F. Meldrum from Bristol University, UK.
Thin nanostructured polymer film incorporated into a calcite single crystal.
