Crystallization of ultrathin polymer films and relaxation phenomena in semicrystalline polymers
S
imone Napolitano is an Early Stage employed by POLYFILM who received his PhD in Polymer Physics (October 2005 - October 2007) from KULeuven, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. He graduated in Materials Science from Università degli studi di Pisa (June 2005), with a curriculum focused on physical, chemical and technological aspects of polymer science and the amorphous state of matter. He spent the summers of 2003 and 2004 in Pasadena, California, working as a summer student at California Institute of Technology. His summer research projects dealt with crystallization phenomena in bulk glassy metals and electropolishing of silicon for Advanced LIGO, Laser Interferometer Gravitational-waves Observatory.
His final thesis was an experimental work on the correlation between relaxation phenomena and tribological properties in ultrathin films of poly(ethylene terephthalate). During the nine months of full time work, he collaborated both with the National Enterprise for nanoScience and nanotechnology of Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and PolyLab (Laboratory for Industrial Application of Polymers), acquiring experience in ultrathin films preparation and characterization of polymers via dielectric spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy.
D
uring his PhD thesis he studied the influence of interfaces on the interplay between molecular relaxations and crystallization dynamics in ultrathin polymer films.
Right: Dielectric spectra of a 26 nm thick film during an isothermal cold crystallization
Modeling Dielectric Relaxation in Polymer Glass Simulations: Dynamics in the Bulk and in Supported Polymer Films
S. Peter, S. Napolitano, H. Meyer, M. Wübbenhorst and J. Baschnagel* Macromolecules, 2008 41, in press
His final thesis was an exp
