Composite SiO2/TiO2 and amine polymer/TiO2 nanoparticles produced using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition was used to conformally coat commercial TiO₂ nanoparticles to create nanocomposite materials. Hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO)/O₂ plasmas were used to deposit SiO₂ or SiO_xC_yH_z films, depending on the oxidant concentration; and hexylamine (HexAm) plasmas were used to deposit amorphous amine-containing polymeric films on the TiO₂ nanoparticles. The composite materials were analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These analyses reveal film composition on the nanoparticles was virtually identical to that deposited on flat substrates and that the films deposit a conformal coating on the nanoparticles. The performance of the nanocomposite materials was evaluated using UV-vis spectroscopy to determine the dispersion characteristics of both SiO_x and HexAm coated TiO₂ materials. Notably, the coated materials stay suspended longer in distilled water than the uncoated materials for all deposited films.