Tomasz Maciej Stawski
Research Interests:
My research interests in general concern wet-chemical synthesis and colloidal processing of inorganic materials; in particular binary and tertiary metal oxides, but also other compounds (cyanides, carbonates, carbides, nitrides etc.). In particular, I specialize in the determination of the relationships between early processing stages of the wet-chemical process (when the amorphous species are formed in the solvent environment), and the influence of these early stages onto the microstructure and nucleation of the crystalline materials under out-of-equilibrium conditions (e.g. upon drying) or upon high-temperature processing.
In my doctorial work, I combined energy filtered TEM with in-situ small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) applied to characterize sol-gel precursor morphologies, used for synthesis of BaTiO3 and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3. With SAXS I could look at the investigated species in their "natural environment" in the solution. I could see what happens as the solution is evaporated and characterise the occurring agglomeration processes (by using a specially designed holder). On the other hand with energy filtered TEM, I could investigate dried samples and crosscheck the mathematical models required to analyse the SAXS data. Furthermore, I could overcome the primary limitation of SAXS, i.e. I did not know if I the scattering was originating from Ti- or/and Ba-containing species as for instance in the case of sol-gel precursors for BaTiO3. By juxtapositioning the results from SAXS with those from electron energy loss spectroscopy and EF-TEM it was possible to overcome this problem and obtain the elemental maps with a nanoscale resolution. It allowed me to demonstrate that sol-gel processing of multi-component precursors of barium titanate and lead zirconate titanate in many cases leads to spatially non-homogenous structures, dynamically evolving and influencing nucleation processes of crystal phases (e.g. T.M. Stawski et al. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 116, 2012, 425-434; T.M. Stawski et al. Langmuir 27(17), 2011, 11081–11089). This stands in opposition to a common believe that wet-chemical methods provide with a "near-molecular" level of mixing of constituents. Hence, my findings have explained the origin of a number of technological issues related to wet-chemical synthesis of thin films and pin-pointed the crucial stages of the process in which further development is required. Currently, my interests consider applications of synchrotron-based SAXS/WAXS and liquid-cell electron microscopy for near-real-time shape determination of clusters forming inorganic materials upon nucleation at the interfaces. By using experimental techniques typical for colloid science it is possible to look at the structures as if they were building blocks of certain size and shape, hence predict their behavior: bottom up process is coupled with bottom up thinking about mechanisms.
Publications
Publications (peer-reviewed journal articles, published or accepted):
1 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, O.F. Göbel, E. Podstawka-Proniewicz, J.E. ten Elshof, "Electron microscopy study of intragranular nanoporosity and the occurrence of local structural disorder in cubic BaTiO3 nanopowders from alkoxide-hydroxide precipitation process", Ceramics International, accepted. DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2012.05.017
2 T.M. Stawski, W.J.C. Vijselaar, O.F. Göbel, S.A. Veldhuis, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "Influence of High Temperature Processing of Sol-Gel Derived Barium Titanate Thin Films on Platinum and Strontium Ruthenate Coated Silicon Wafers", Thin Solid Films 520, 2012, 4394-4401.
3 O.F. Göbel , T.M. Stawski, J.E. ten Elshof, "Thin films of two laterally patterned functional oxides by soft lithography", ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 4, 2012, 40-43.
4 T.M. Stawski, R. Besselink, S.A. Veldhuis, H.L. Castricum, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "Time-Resolved Small Angle X-ray Scattering Study of Sol-Gel Precursor Solutions of Lead Zirconate Titanate and Zirconia", Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 369, 2012, 184-192.
5 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, R. Besselink, H.L. Castricum, G. Portale, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "Nanostructure Development in Alkoxide-Carboxylate-Derived Precursor Films of Barium Titanate", Journal of Physical Chemistry C 116, 2012, 425-434.
6 A. George, T.M. Stawski, S. Unnikrishnan, S.A. Veldhuis, J.E. ten Elshof, "Micro and nanopatterning of functional materials on flexible plastic substrates via site-selective surface modification using oxygen plasma", Journal of Materials Chemistry 22, 2012, 328-332.
7 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, R. Besselink, H.L. Castricum, G. Portale, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "Nanoscale Structure Evolution in Alkoxide-Carboxylate Sol-Gel Precursor Solutions of Barium Titanate", Journal of Physical Chemistry C 115(42), 2011, 20449-20459; "Correction to Nanoscale Structure Evolution in Alkoxide-Carboxylate Sol-Gel Precursor Solutions of Barium Titanate", Journal of Physical Chemistry C 115, 2011, 24028-24028.
8 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, H.L. Castricum, E.G. Keim, G. Eeckhaut, W. Bras, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "Development of Nanoscale Inhomogeneities during Drying of Sol-Gel Derived Amorphous Lead Zirconate Titanate Precursor Thin Films", Langmuir 27(17), 2011, 11081–11089.
9 O.F. Göbel, T.E. Branfield, T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "Stacks of Functional Oxide Thin Films Patterned by Micromolding", ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2(11), 2010, 2992–2994.
10 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, O.F. Göbel, J.E. ten Elshof, D.H.A. Blank, "Effects of Reaction Medium on the Phase Synthesis and Particle Size Evolution of BaTiO3", Journal of the American Ceramic Society 93, 2010, 3443–3448.
11 R. Besselink, T.M. Stawski, H.L. Castricum, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "Exfoliation and Restacking of Lepidocrocite-type Layered Titanates Studied by Small-Angle X-ray Scattering", Journal of Physical Chemistry C 114(49), 2010, 21281-21286.
12 T. Stawski, J. Szklarzewicz, A. Kotarba, P. Smoluchowski, "The modifications of copper work function by layer-by-layer deposition of [W(CN)8]4− – Co2+ bimetallic nanolayers", Polyhedron 28(3), 2009, 473-478.
13 T.Stawski, J. Szklarzewicz, K. Lewiński, "The Transition Products in Substitutional Photochemistry of [Mo(CN)8]4− – Theoretical Approach. X-ray Crystal Structure of (AsPh4)[W(bpy)(CN)6]", Transition Metal Chemistry 31(3) 2006, 353-361.
Publications (peer reviewed journal articles, submitted or in preparation):
14 T.M. Stawski, A. George, B.F. Smith, A.W. Maijenburg, J.E. ten Elshof, "Wet-chemical fabrication of functional lead zirconate titanate/zinc oxide thin film composites with sub-250 nm feature resolution", IN PREPARATION.
Published abstracts:
TOMASZ M. STAWSKI, LIANE G. BENNING, TERESA RONCAL-HERRERO AND ROLAND KROGER
How do calcium carbonates form in microemulsions?
http://goldschmidt.info/2015/uploads/abstracts/finalPDFs/2973.pdf
Tomasz Maciej Stawski, Mercedes Ossorio, Alexander E.S. Van Driessche, Juan Diego Rodriguez Blanco, Taher Rabizadeh, Liane G. Benning
The scattering of the ugly: time-resolved and in situ SAXS for quickly evolving inorganic systems.
Materials Research Society 2014 Conference
https://mrsspring14.zerista.com/event/member/106808
Stawski TM & Benning LG (2013) Mineralogical Magazine, 77(5) 2254: Inert nano-reactors or dynamic micelle interfaces? CaCO3 precipitation from microemulsions
http://goldschmidt.info/2013/abstracts/finalPDFs/2254.pdf
DOI:10.1180/minmag.2013.077.5.19
1 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, H.L. Castricum, J.E. ten Elshof, "Evolution of inhomogeneities in alkoxide‐carboxylate precursor sols and amorphous xero‐gel films of barium titanate and lead zirconate titanate", Electroceramics XIII, Enschede, June 25th-28th, 2012 (oral presentation).
2 S.A. Veldhuis, T.M. Stawski, J.E. ten Elshof, "One‐step Low‐temperature Synthesis of Nano‐crystalline BaTiO3: Structural Features and Reaction Mechanism", Electroceramics XIII, Enschede, June 25th-28th, 2012 (oral presentation).
3 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, R. Besselink, H.L. Castricum, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "Structural differences in alkoxide-carboxylate precursor sols and derived amorphous xero-gel films of barium titanate and lead zirconate titanate", CHAINS, Utrecht, November 28th-30th, 2011 (oral presentation).
4 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, H.L. Castricum, J.E. ten Elshof, "Evolution of inhomogeneities in alkoxide-carboxylate precursor sols and derived amorphous xero-gel films of barium titanate and lead zirconate titanate", EMRS meeting, Warsaw, Poland, September 19th -23rd, 2011 (oral presentation).
5 R. Besselink, H.L. Castricum, T.M. Stawski, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "In-situ sol particle growth and phase separation of mixed niobium silsesquioxanes precursors", 16th International Sol-Gel Conference, Hangzhou, China, August 28th – September 2nd, 2011 (poster).
6 S.A. Veldhuis, T.M. Stawski, O.F. Göbel, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "One-step low-temperature synthesis of nano-crystalline BaTiO3: structural features and reaction mechanism", ECerS XII, Stockholm, Sweden, June 19th-23rd, 2011 (oral presentation: invited talk)
7 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, H.L. Castricum, G. Eeckhaut, W. Bras, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "Microstructure of the crystalline barium titanate and lead zirconate titanate thin films understood through the structure of the sol-gel amorphous precursors", Chemische Wetenschappen, annual meeting on Solid State Chemistry and Materials Science, Veldhoven, the Netherlands, March 14th -15th, 2011 (oral presentation).
8 R. Besselink, H.L. Castricum, T.M. Stawski, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "SAXS: a useful tool for characterizing phase separation in drying sols", Veldhoven, the Netherlands, March 14th-15th, 2011 (poster).
9 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, A.J.H.M. Rijnders, D.H.A. Blank, J.E. ten Elshof, "Wet-chemical synthesis of barium titanate for thin film applications", annual meeting of Thin Film Nanomanufacturing programme, Rijhuizen, the Netherlands, December 7th, 2010 (oral presentation).
10 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, J.E. ten Elshof, H.L. Castricum, D.H.A. Blank, "Development of phase inhomogeneity in the sol-gel system of titanium(IV) alkoxide and barium acetate: in-situ SAXS study", ICC 3rd International Congress in Ceramics, Osaka, Japan, November 14th -18th, 2010 (poster: best poster prize awarded).
11 S.A. Veldhuis, T.M. Stawski, O.F. Göbel, J.E. ten Elshof, D.H.A. Blank, " One-step, low-temperature, microwave assisted synthesis of barium titanate nano-crystalline powders", ICC 3rd International Congress in Ceramics, Osaka, Japan, November 14th -18th, 2010 (oral presentation).
12 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, J.E. ten Elshof, H.L. Castricum, D.H.A. Blank, "Manufacturing of barium titanate thin films with designed microstructures by a sol-gel process: in-situ SAXS investigation of the precursor system", CIMTEC, Montecatini, Italy, June 6th -11th, 2010 (oral presentation).
13 S.A. Veldhuis, T.M. Stawski, J.E. ten Elshof, O.F. Göbel, D.H.A. Blank, "One-step, low-temperature, microwave assisted synthesis of barium titanate nano-crystalline powders of tunable size", CIMTEC, Montecatini, Italy, June 6th -11th, 2010 (poster).
14 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, J.E. ten Elshof, H.L. Castricum, D.H.A. Blank, "Manufacturing of barium titanate thin films with designed microstructures by a sol-gel process: in-situ SAXS investigation of the precursor system", annual meeting of Deutsche Physikalische Gesellshaft (DPG), Regensburg, Germany, March 21st -26th, 2010 (oral presentation).
15 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, J.E. ten Elshof, H.L. Castricum, D.H.A. Blank, "Manufacturing of barium titanate thin films with designed microstructures by a sol-gel process: in-situ SAXS investigation of the precursor system", Chemische Wetenschappen, annual meeting on Solid State Chemistry and Materials Science, Veldhoven, the Netherlands, February 15th -16th, 2010 (oral presentation).
16 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, O.F. Göbel, G. Rijnders, J.E. ten Elshof, and D.H.A. Blank, "One- step, low-temperature synthesis of barium titanate nano-crystalline powders for thin film applications," EMRS meeting, Strasbourg, France, June 8th -12th, 2009 (oral presentation).
17 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, O.F. Göbel, G. Rijnders, J.E. ten Elshof, and D.H.A. Blank, "Comparison of barium titanate thin films derived from wet-chemical routes and pulsed laser deposition," EMRS meeting, Strasbourg, France, June 8th -12th, 2009 (poster).
18 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, S.U. Khan, J.E. ten Elshof, H.L. Castricum, D.H.A. Blank, G.Eeckhaut, W. Bras, "In-situ SAXS investigations of sol-gel barium titanate and lead zirconate titanate precursor solutions," Synchotron and Neutron Workshop, Brussels, Belgium, April 23rd, 2009. (poster).
19 T.M. Stawski, S.A. Veldhuis, S.U. Khan, J.E. ten Elshof, H.L. Castricum, D.H.A. Blank, G. Eeckhaut, W. Bras, "In-situ SAXS investigations of sol-gel barium titanate and lead zirconate titanate precursor solutions," Chemische Wetenschappen, annual meeting on Solid State Chemistry and Materials Science, Lunteren, the Netherlands, April 20th-21st, 2009 (poster).
20 T.M. Stawski, O.F. Göbel, S.A. Veldhuis, R.J.A. Steenwelle, M.D. Nguyen, J.E. ten Elshof, A.J.H.M. Rijnders, D.H.A. Blank, "Ferroelectric materials and their applications in devices", MESA+ Annual Meeting, Enschede, the Netherlands, September 15th, 2008 (poster).
21 J. Szklarzewicz, T. Stawski, "The simple approach to the intermediates in substitutional photolysis of K4[M(CN)8]⋅2H2O (M=Mo or W)", XIV-th Winter School on Coordination Chemistry, Karpacz, Poland, December 6th-10th, 2004 (oral presentation).
22 T. Stawski, J. Szklarzewicz, "The transition products in substitutional photochemistry of [Mo(CN)8]4- - theoretical approach", Exemplarchem by Royal Chemical Society, London, UK, October 29th, 2004 (contribution in the form of an interactive website).
23 T. Stawski, J. Szklarzewicz, "Theoretical models and properties of various complex of molybdenum; [Mo(CN)6]2-, [Mo(CN)5]-, [Mo(CN)6OH]3-", Październikowe Spotkanie z Chemią Koordynacyjną, Kraków, Poland, October 24th, 2003, (poster).
Book chapter:
T.M. Stawski, L.G. Benning
SAXS in inorganic and bioinspired research
Methods in Enzymology 532, 2013, 95-126.(2013)
