TY - JOUR
T1 - Pyrolytic carbon resonators for micromechanical thermal analysis
AU - Nguyen, Long Quang
AU - Larsen, Peter Emil
AU - Larsen, Tom
AU - Bose-Goswami, Sanjukta
AU - Villanueva, Luis Guillermo
AU - Boisen, Anja
AU - Keller, Stephan Sylvest
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Thermal analysis is essential for the characterization of polymers and drugs. However, the currently established methods require a large amount of sample. Here, we present pyrolytic carbon resonators as promising tools for micromechanical thermal analysis (MTA) of nanograms of polymers. Doubly clamped pre-stressed beams with a resonance frequency of 233 ± 4 kHz and a quality factor (Q factor) of 800 ± 200 were fabricated. Optimization of the electrical conductivity of the pyrolytic carbon allowed us to explore resistive heating for integrated temperature control. MTA was achieved by monitoring the resonance frequency and quality factor of the carbon resonators with and without a deposited sample as a function of temperature. To prove the potential of pyrolytic carbon resonators as thermal analysis tools, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of semicrystalline poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and the melting temperature (Tm) of poly(caprolactone) (PCL) were determined. The results show that the Tg of PLLA and Tm of PCL are 61.0 ± 0.8 °C and 60.0 ± 1.0 °C, respectively, which are in excellent agreement with the values measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).
AB - Thermal analysis is essential for the characterization of polymers and drugs. However, the currently established methods require a large amount of sample. Here, we present pyrolytic carbon resonators as promising tools for micromechanical thermal analysis (MTA) of nanograms of polymers. Doubly clamped pre-stressed beams with a resonance frequency of 233 ± 4 kHz and a quality factor (Q factor) of 800 ± 200 were fabricated. Optimization of the electrical conductivity of the pyrolytic carbon allowed us to explore resistive heating for integrated temperature control. MTA was achieved by monitoring the resonance frequency and quality factor of the carbon resonators with and without a deposited sample as a function of temperature. To prove the potential of pyrolytic carbon resonators as thermal analysis tools, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of semicrystalline poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and the melting temperature (Tm) of poly(caprolactone) (PCL) were determined. The results show that the Tg of PLLA and Tm of PCL are 61.0 ± 0.8 °C and 60.0 ± 1.0 °C, respectively, which are in excellent agreement with the values measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).
U2 - 10.1038/s41378-019-0094-x
DO - 10.1038/s41378-019-0094-x
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 31646000
SN - 2055-7434
VL - 5
JO - Microsystems & Nanoengineering (Online)
JF - Microsystems & Nanoengineering (Online)
IS - 1
M1 - 58
ER -