TY - JOUR A1 - Rumyantsev, Artem M. A1 - Santer, Svetlana A1 - Kramarenko, Elena Yu. T1 - Theory of collapse and overcharging of a polyelectrolyte microgel induced by an oppositely charged surfactant JF - Macromolecules : a publication of the American Chemical Society N2 - We report on the theoretical study of interaction of ionic surfactants with oppositely charged microgel particles in dilute solutions. Two approaches are proposed. Within the first approach, the micellization of the surfactants inside the microgel is taken into account while the second model focuses on the hydrophobic interactions of the surfactant tails with the hydrophobic parts of microgel subchains. It has been shown that microgels effectively absorb surfactant ions. At low surfactant concentration this absorption is realized due to an ion exchange between microgel counterions and surfactant ions. The ion exchange is significantly affected by the amount of the microgel counterions initially trapped within the microgel particles which depends on the size of the microgel, its ionization degree, cross-linking density as well as polymer concentration in the solution. Increase of the surfactant concentration causes contraction of the microgels, which can be realized as either a continuous shrinking or a jump-like collapse transition depending on the system parameters. In the collapsed state additional absorption of surfactants by microgels takes place due to an energy gain from micellization or hydrophobic interactions. This leads to microgel precipitation and successive microgel overcharging at an excess of the surfactant in the solution. The theoretical results are compared with the existing experimental data, in particular, on photosensitive surfactant/microgel complexes. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/ma500637d SN - 0024-9297 SN - 1520-5835 VL - 47 IS - 15 SP - 5388 EP - 5399 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yadavalli, Nataraja Sekhar A1 - Korolkov, Denis A1 - Moulin, Jean-Francois A1 - Krutyeva, Margarita A1 - Santer, Svetlana T1 - Probing opto-mechanical stresses within azobenzene-containing photosensitive polymer films by a thin metal film placed above JF - ACS applied materials & interfaces N2 - Azo-modified photosensitive polymers offer the interesting possibility to reshape bulk polymers and thin films by UV-irradiation while being in the solid glassy state. The polymer undergoes considerable mass transport under irradiation with a light interference pattern resulting in the formation of surface relief grating (SRG). The forces inscribing this SRG pattern into a thin film are hard to assess experimentally directly. In the current study, we are proposing a method to probe opto-mechanical stresses within polymer films by characterizing the mechanical response of thin metal films (10 nm) deposited on the photosensitive polymer. During irradiation, the metal film not only deforms along with the SRG formation but ruptures in a regular and complex manner. The morphology of the cracks differs strongly depending on the electrical field distribution in the interference pattern, even when the magnitude and the kinetics of the strain are kept constant. This implies a complex local distribution of the opto-mechanical stress along the topography grating. In addition, the neutron reflectivity measurements of the metal/polymer interface indicate the penetration of a metal layer within the polymer, resulting in a formation of a bonding layer that confirms the transduction of light-induced stresses in the polymer layer to a metal film. KW - surface relief grating KW - opto-mechanical stresses KW - bonding layer at the metal/polymer interface KW - rupturing of metal film KW - metal/multilayered graphene/polymer interfaces KW - azobenzene Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/am501870t SN - 1944-8244 VL - 6 IS - 14 SP - 11333 EP - 11340 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - DiFlorio, Giuseppe A1 - Bründermann, Erik A1 - Yadavall, Nataraja Sekhar A1 - Santer, Svetlana A1 - Havenith, Martina T1 - Polarized 3D Raman and nanoscale near-field optical microscopy of optically inscribed surface relief gratings: chromophore orientation in azo-doped polymer films N2 - We have used polarized confocal Raman microspectroscopy and scanning near-field optical microscopy with a resolution of 60 nm to characterize photoinscribed grating structures of azobenzene doped polymer films on a glass support. Polarized Raman microscopy allowed determining the reorientation of the chromophores as a function of the grating phase and penetration depth of the inscribing laser in three dimensions. We found periodic patterns, which are not restricted to the surface alone, but appear also well below the surface in the bulk of the material. Near-field optical microscopy with nanoscale resolution revealed lateral two-dimensional optical contrast, which is not observable by atomic force and Raman microscopy. Y1 - 2014 UR - http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2014/sm/c3sm51787j U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c3sm51787j SN - 1744-683x ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Di Florio, Giuseppe A1 - Bruendermann, Erik A1 - Yadavalli, Nataraja Sekhar A1 - Santer, Svetlana A1 - Havenith, Martina T1 - Polarized 3D Raman and nanoscale near-field optical microscopy of optically inscribed surface relief gratings: chromophore orientation in azo-doped polymer films JF - Soft matter N2 - We have used polarized confocal Raman microspectroscopy and scanning near-field optical microscopy with a resolution of 60 nm to characterize photoinscribed grating structures of azobenzene doped polymer films on a glass support. Polarized Raman microscopy allowed determining the reorientation of the chromophores as a function of the grating phase and penetration depth of the inscribing laser in three dimensions. We found periodic patterns, which are not restricted to the surface alone, but appear also well below the surface in the bulk of the material. Near-field optical microscopy with nanoscale resolution revealed lateral two-dimensional optical contrast, which is not observable by atomic force and Raman microscopy. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c3sm51787j SN - 1744-683X SN - 1744-6848 VL - 10 IS - 10 SP - 1544 EP - 1554 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zakrevskyy, Yuriy A1 - Roxlau, Julian A1 - Brezesinski, Gerald A1 - Lomadze, Nino A1 - Santer, Svetlana T1 - Photosensitive surfactants: Micellization and interaction with DNA JF - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr N2 - Recently, photosensitive surfactants have re-attracted considerable attention. It has been shown that their association with oppositely charged biologically important polyelectrolytes, such as DNA or microgels, can be efficiently manipulated simply by light exposure. In this article, we investigate the self-assembly of photosensitive surfactants as well as their interactions with DNA by calorimetric and spectroscopic methods. Critical micelle concentration (CMC), standard micellization enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs energy were determined in different conditions (ionic strengths and temperatures) for a series of cationic surfactants with an azobenzene group in their tail. It is shown, that aggregation forces of photosensitive units play an important role in the micellization giving the major contribution to the micellization enthalpy. The onset of the aggregation can be traced from shift of the absorption peak position in the UV-visible spectrum. Titration UV-visible spectroscopy is used as an alternative, simple, and sensitive approach to estimate CMC. The titration UV-visible spectroscopy was also employed to investigate interactions (CAC: critical aggregation concentration, precipitation, and colloidal stabilization) in the DNA-surfactant complex. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4862678 SN - 0021-9606 SN - 1089-7690 VL - 140 IS - 4 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yadavalli, Nataraja Sekhar A1 - Saphiannikova, Marina A1 - Santer, Svetlana T1 - Photosensitive response of azobenzene containing films towards pure intensity or polarization interference patterns JF - Applied physics letters N2 - In this paper, we report on differences in the response of photosensitive azobenzene containing films upon irradiation with the intensity or polarization interference patterns. Two materials are studied differing in the molecular weight: an azobenzene-containing polymer and a molecular glass formed from a much smaller molecule consisting of three connected azobenzene units. Topography changes occurring along with the changes in irradiation conditions are recorded using a homemade set-up combining an optical part for generation and shaping of interference patterns and an atomic force microscope for acquiring the kinetics of film deformation. In this way, we could reveal the unique behavior of photosensitive materials during the first few minutes of irradiation: the change in topography is initially driven by an increase in the azobenzene free volume along with the transcis isomerization, followed by the mass transport finally resulting in the surface relief grating. This study demonstrates the great potential of our setup to experimentally highlight puzzling processes governing the formation of surface relief gratings. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4891615 SN - 0003-6951 SN - 1077-3118 VL - 105 IS - 5 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zakrevskyy, Yuriy A1 - Titov, Evgenii A1 - Lomadze, Nino A1 - Santer, Svetlana T1 - Phase diagrams of DNA-photosensitive surfactant complexes: Effect of ionic strength and surfactant structure JF - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr N2 - Realization of all-optically controlled and efficient DNA compaction is the major motivation in the study of interactions between DNA and photosensitive surfactants. In this article, using recently published approach of phase diagram construction [Y. Zakrevskyy, P. Cywinski, M. Cywinska, J. Paasche, N. Lomadze, O. Reich, H.-G. Lohmannsroben, and S. Santer, J. Chem. Phys. 140, 044907 (2014)], a strategy for substantial reduction of compaction agent concentration and simultaneous maintaining the light-induced decompaction efficiency is proposed. The role of ionic strength (NaCl concentration), as a very important environmental parameter, and surfactant structure (spacer length) on the changes of positions of phase transitions is investigated. Increase of ionic strength leads to increase of the surfactant concentration needed to compact DNA molecule. However, elongation of the spacer results to substantial reduction of this concentration. DNA compaction by surfactants with longer tails starts to take place in diluted solutions at charge ratios Z < 1 and is driven by azobenzene-aggregation compaction mechanism, which is responsible for efficient decompaction. Comparison of phase diagrams for different DNA-photosensitive surfactant systems allowed explanation and proposal of a strategy to overcome previously reported limitations of the light-induced decompaction for complexes with increasing surfactant hydrophobicity. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4899281 SN - 0021-9606 SN - 1089-7690 VL - 141 IS - 16 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Papke, Thomas A1 - Yadavalli, Nataraja Sekhar A1 - Henkel, Carsten A1 - Santer, Svetlana T1 - Mapping a plasmonic hologram with photosensitive polymer films: standing versus propagating waves JF - ACS applied materials & interfaces N2 - We use a photosensitive layer containing azobenzene moieties to map near-field intensity patterns in the vicinity of nanogrids fabricated within a thin silver layer. It is known that azobenzene containing films deform permanently during irradiation, following the pattern of the field intensity. The photosensitive material reacts only to stationary waves whose intensity patterns do not change in time. In this study, we have found a periodic deformation above the silver film outside the nanostructure, even if the latter consists of just one groove. This is in contradiction to the widely accepted viewpoint that propagating surface plasmon modes dominate outside nanogrids. We explain our observation based on an electromagnetic hologram formed by the constructive interference between a propagating surface plasmon wave and the incident light. This hologram contains a stationary intensity and polarization grating that even appears in the absence of the polymer layer. KW - propagating surface plasmons KW - nanostructured metal surface KW - azobenzene containing photosensitive material KW - surface relief grating Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/am503501y SN - 1944-8244 VL - 6 IS - 16 SP - 14174 EP - 14180 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zakrevskyy, Yuriy A1 - Cywinski, Piotr A1 - Cywinska, Magdalena A1 - Paasche, Jens A1 - Lomadze, Nino A1 - Reich, Oliver A1 - Löhmannsröben, Hans-Gerd A1 - Santer, Svetlana T1 - Interaction of photosensitive surfactant with DNA and poly acrylic acid JF - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4862679 SN - 0021-9606 SN - 1089-7690 VL - 140 IS - 4 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Di Florio, G. A1 - Bruendermann, E. A1 - Yadavalli, Nataraja Sekhar A1 - Santer, Svetlana A1 - Havenith, Martina T1 - Graphene multilayer as nanosized optical strain gauge for polymer surface relief gratings JF - Nano letters : a journal dedicated to nanoscience and nanotechnology N2 - In this paper, we show how graphene can be utilized as a nanoscopic probe in order to characterize local opto-mechanical forces generated within photosensitive azobenzene containing polymer films. Upon irradiation with light interference patterns, photosensitive films deform according to the spatial intensity variation, leading to the formation of periodic topographies such as surface relief gratings (SRG). The mechanical driving forces inscribing a pattern into the films are supposedly fairly large, because the deformation takes place without photofluidization; the polymer is in a glassy state throughout. However, until now there has been no attempt to characterize these forces by any means. The challenge here is that the forces vary locally on a nanometer scale. Here, we propose to use Raman analysis of the stretching of the graphene layer adsorbed on top of polymer film under deformation in order to probe the strength of the material transport spatially resolved. With the well-known mechanical properties of graphene, we can obtain lower bounds on the forces acting within the film. Upon the basis of our experimental results, we can deduce that the internal pressure in the film due to grating formation can exceed 1 GPa. The graphene-based nanoscopic gauge opens new possibilities to characterize opto-mechanical forces generated within photosensitive polymer films. KW - Surface relief grating KW - optomechanical forces KW - photosensitive polymer films KW - multilayer graphene deformation KW - confocal Raman microscopy Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/nl502631s SN - 1530-6984 SN - 1530-6992 VL - 14 IS - 10 SP - 5754 EP - 5760 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Richter, Marcel A1 - Zakrevskyy, Yuriy A1 - Eisele, Michael A1 - Lomadze, Nino A1 - Santer, Svetlana A1 - von Klitzing, Regine T1 - Effect of pH, co-monomer content, and surfactant structure on the swelling behavior of microgel-azobenzene-containing surfactant complex JF - Polymer : the international journal for the science and technology of polymers N2 - The contraction/swelling transition of anionic PNIPAM-co-AAA particles can be manipulated by light using interactions with cationic azobenzene-containing surfactant. In this study the influence of pH-buffers and their concentrations, the charge density (AAA content) in microgel particles as well as the spacer length of the surfactant on the complex formation between the microgel and surfactant is investigated. It is shown that the presence of pH buffer can lead to complete blocking of the interactions in such complexes and the resulting microgel contraction/swelling response. There is a clear competition between the buffer ions and the surfactant molecules interacting with microgel particles. When working in pure water solutions with fixed concentration (charge density) of microgel, the contraction/swelling of the particles is controlled only by relative concentration (charge ratio) of the surfactant and AAA groups of the microgel. Furthermore, the particle contraction is more efficient for shorter spacer length of the surfactant. The onset point of the contraction process is not affected by the surfactant hydrophobicity. This work provides new insight into the interaction between microgel particles and photo-sensitive surfactants, which offers high potential in new sensor systems. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Hydrogel KW - Photosensitive surfactant KW - PNIPAM Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2014.10.027 SN - 0032-3861 SN - 1873-2291 VL - 55 IS - 25 SP - 6513 EP - 6518 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Di Florio, G. A1 - Bruendermann, E. A1 - Yadavalli, Nataraja Sekhar A1 - Santer, Svetlana A1 - Havenith, Martina T1 - Confocal raman microscopy and AFM study of the interface between the photosensitive polymer layer and multilayer graphene JF - Soft materials N2 - In this paper we report on the interaction between photosensitive azobenzene-containing polymer films and on top adsorbed graphene multilayers. The photosensitive polymer film changes its topography under irradiation with light interference patterns according to their polarization distribution. The multilayer graphene follows the deformation of the polymer film and stretches accordingly. Using confocal Raman microspectroscopy we can detect the appearance of additional peaks in the Raman spectrum of the photosensitive polymer film upon irradiation indicating a molecular interaction at the interface between the graphene multilayer and the polymer matrix. Multi-component analysis of the specific Raman bands shows that the interaction involves the graphene rings and the aromatic rings of the azobenzenes causing the strong adhesion between the two materials. KW - Graphene KW - Multilayer graphene KW - Photosensitive polymer film KW - Confocal Raman microscopy KW - AFM KW - Surface Relief Grating KW - Interfacial molecular interaction Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/1539445X.2014.945040 SN - 1539-445X SN - 1539-4468 VL - 12 SP - S98 EP - S105 PB - Taylor & Francis Group CY - Philadelphia ER -