7 research outputs found
In-situ measurements of the optical absorption of dioxythiophene-based conjugated polymers
Conjugated polymers can be reversibly doped by electrochemical means. This
doping introduces new sub-bandgap optical absorption bands in the polymer while
decreasing the bandgap absorption. To study this behavior, we have prepared an
electrochemical cell allowing measurements of the optical properties of the
polymer. The cell consists of a thin polymer film deposited on gold-coated
Mylar behind which is another polymer that serves as a counterelectrode. An
infrared transparent window protects the upper polymer from ambient air. By
adding a gel electrolyte and making electrical connections to the
polymer-on-gold films, one may study electrochromism in a wide spectral range.
As the cell voltage (the potential difference between the two electrodes)
changes, the doping level of the conjugated polymer films is changed
reversibly. Our experiments address electrochromism in
poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxy-thiophene) (PEDOT) and
poly(3,4-dimethyl-propylene-dioxy-thiophene) (PProDOT-Me). This closed
electrochemical cell allows the study of the doping induced sub-bandgap
features (polaronic and bipolaronic modes) in these easily oxidized and highly
redox switchable polymers. We also study the changes in cell spectra as a
function of polymer thickness and investigate strategies to obtain cleaner
spectra, minimizing the contributions of water and gel electrolyte features
Deppining of a Superfluid Vortex Inside a Circular Defect
In this work we study the process of depinning of a quantum of circulation
trapped inside a disk by an applied two dimensional superflow. We use the
Gross-Pitaevskii model to describe the neutral superfluid. The collective
coordinate dynamics is derived directly from the condensate equation of motion,
the nonlinear Schroedinger equation, and it is used to obtain an expression for
the critical velocity as a function of the defect radius. This expression is
compared with a numerical result obtained from the time independent nonlinear
Schroedinger equation. Below the critical velocity, we obtain the dependence of
the semiclassical nucleation rate with the flow velocity at infinity. Above the
critical velocity, the classical vortex depinning is illustrated with a
numerical simulation of the time dependent nonlinear Schroedinger equation.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, uses revtex and epsf.st