Real-time microscopy of the relaxation of a glass

The understanding of the dynamics of a glass above its devitrification temperature remains incomplete. Here, we build a spatio-temporal map of the relaxation dynamics of a highly stable glass into its supercooled liquid using real-time atomic force microscopy imaging. This methodology enables direct...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ruiz-Ruiz, Marta|||0009-0001-7462-6327, Vila Costa, Ana|||0000-0001-9851-877X, Bar, Tapas|||0000-0002-5947-074X, Rodríguez-Tinoco, Cristian|||0000-0003-2693-957X, Gonzalez-Silveira, Marta|||0000-0003-1510-5262, Plaza, José A.|||0000-0002-8595-5580, Alcalá, Jorge|||0000-0002-6950-5766, Fraxedas, Jordi|||0000-0002-2821-4831, Rodríguez-Viejo, Javier|||0000-0002-9735-263X
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:283483
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/283483
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1038/s41567-023-02125-0
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Atomic-force-microscopy
Devitrification temperature
Highly stables
Length scale
Real- time
Relaxation dynamics
Spatio-temporal
Supercooled liquids
Temporal maps
Time-scales
Descripción
Sumario:The understanding of the dynamics of a glass above its devitrification temperature remains incomplete. Here, we build a spatio-temporal map of the relaxation dynamics of a highly stable glass into its supercooled liquid using real-time atomic force microscopy imaging. This methodology enables direct visualization of the progression of the liquid phase and clarifies and quantifies the presence of localized fast mobility regions separated by giant length scales. Our data establish a clear correlation between dynamic length and time scales in glasses. This approach may also be applicable to unveil the microscopic structure and dynamics of other glass-forming systems with much shorter length and time scales, including liquid-cooled glasses.