Probing the Free Volume in Polymers by Means of Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) is a valuable technique to investigate defects in solids, such as vacancy clusters and grain boundaries in metals and alloys, as well as lattice imperfections in semiconductors. Positron spectroscopy is able to reveal the size, structure and concentration of vacancies with a sensitivity of 10(-7). In the field of porous and amorphous systems, PALS can probe cavities in the range from a few tenths up to several tens of nm. In the case of polymers, PALS is one of the few techniques able to give information on the holes forming the free volume. This quantity, which cannot be measured with macroscopic techniques, is correlated to important mechanical, thermal, and transport properties of polymers. It can be deduced theoretically by applying suitable equations of state derived by cell models, and PALS supplies a quantitative measure of the free volume by probing the corresponding sub-nanometric holes. The system used is positronium (Ps), an unstable atom formed by a positron and an electron, whose lifetime can be related to the typical size of the holes. When analyzed in terms of continuous lifetimes, the positron annihilation spectrum allows one to gain insight into the distribution of the free volume holes, an almost unique feature of this technique. The present paper is an overview of PALS, addressed in particular to readers not familiar with this technique, with emphasis on the experimental aspects. After a general introduction on free volume, positronium, and the experimental apparatus needed to acquire the corresponding lifetime, some of the recent results obtained by various groups will be shown, highlighting the connections between the free volume as probed by PALS and structural properties of the investigated materials

Positron annihilation spectroscopy: a new frontier for understanding nanoparticle loaded polymer brushes

Nanoparticle-loaded polymer brushes are powerful tools for the development of innovative devices. However, their characterization is challenging and arrays of different techniques are typically required to gain sufficient insight. Here we demonstrate for the first time the suitability of positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) to investigate, with unprecedented detail and without making the least damage to samples, the physico-chemical changes experienced by pHresponsive polymer brushes after protonation and after loading of silver nanoparticles. One of the most important findings is the depth profiling of silver nanoparticles inside the brushes. These results open up a completely new way to understand the structure and behavior of such complex systems

Positronium Confinement in Small Cavities: A Two-Particle Model for the Lowering of Contact Density

Positronium (Ps) is widely used as a probe for studying nanometric porosities in condensed matter. Accessible experimental measurements concern annihilation rates by pickoff processes and contact densities (the electron density at the positron position). Existing models for describing Ps properties in small cavities do not justify the lowering of the contact density with respect to that of Ps in vacuum, as found in most materials. We formulate a two-particle model in which only the electron is confined in the cavity, while the positron is moving freely and feels the medium via a positive work function. Our calculation fully explains experimental data for a large class of materials and suggests a way to gain information on pore sizes and positron work functions

Convenient Preparation of Graphene Oxide from Expandable Graphite and Its Characterization by Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy

Graphene oxide (GO) is conveniently prepared from expandable graphite using a simplified Hummers’ method. The product is thoroughly characterized by usual techniques (UV-vis, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopies, zeta potential, electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption) to confirm the success of synthesis. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) is then used to extract information on the microenvironment in between the layers of graphene oxide

A Moiré Deflectometer for Antimatter

The precise measurement of forces is one way to obtain deep insight into the fundamental interactions present in nature. In the context of neutral antimatter, the gravitational interaction is of high interest, potentially revealing new forces that violate the weak equivalence principle. Here we report on a successful extension of a tool from atom optics - the moirè deflectometer - for a measurement of the acceleration of slow antiprotons. The setup consists of two identical transmission gratings and a spatially resolving emulsion detector for antiproton annihilations. Absolute referencing of the observed antimatter pattern with a photon pattern experiencing no deflection allows the direct inference of forces present. The concept is also straightforwardly applicable to antihydrogen measurements as pursued by the AEgIS collaboration. The combination of these very different techniques from high energy and atomic physics opens a very promising route to the direct detection of the gravitational acceleration of neutral antimatter

Measuring the free fall of antihydrogen

After the first production of cold antihydrogen by the ATHENA and ATRAP experiments ten years ago, new second-generation experiments are aimed at measuring the fundamental properties of this anti-atom. The goal of AEGIS (Antimatter Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy) is to test the weak equivalence principle by studying the gravitational interaction between matter and antimatter with a pulsed, cold antihydrogen beam. The experiment is currently being assembled at CERN's Antiproton Decelerator. In AEGIS, antihydrogen will be produced by charge exchange of cold antiprotons with positronium excited to a high Rydberg state (n > 20). An antihydrogen beam will be produced by controlled acceleration in an electric-field gradient (Stark acceleration). The deflection of the horizontal beam due to its free fall in the gravitational field of the earth will be measured with a moire deflectometer. Initially, the gravitational acceleration will be determined to a precision of 1%, requiring the detection of about 105 antihydrogen atoms. In this paper, after a general description, the present status of the experiment will be reviewed

AEgIS Experiment: Measuring the Acceleration g of the Earth's Gravitational Field on Antihydrogen Beam

The AEgIS experiment [1] aims at directly measuring the gravitational acceleration g on a beam of cold antihydrogen (H) to a precision of 1%, performing the first test with antimatter of the (WEP) Weak Equivalence Principle. The experimental apparatus is sited at the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland. After production by mixing of antiprotons with Rydberg state positronium atoms (Ps), the atoms will be driven to fly horizontally with a velocity of a few 100 ms−1 for a path length of about 1 meter. The small deflection, few tens of μm, will be measured using two material gratings (of period ∼ 80 μm) coupled to a position-sensitive detector working as a moiré deflectometer similarly to what has been done with matter atoms [2]. The shadow pattern produced by the beam will then be detected by reconstructing the annihilation points with a spatial resolution (∼ 2 μm) of each antiatom at the end of the flight path by the sensitive-position detector. During 2012 the experimental apparatus has been commissioned with antiprotons and positrons. Since the AD will not be running during 2013,during the refurbishment of the CERN accelerators, the experiment is currently working with positrons, electrons and protons, in order to prepare the way for the antihydrogen production in late 2014