Preparation and micro-mechanical studies of polysiloxane-containing dual-layer film on Au surface

A novel polysiloxane-containing self-assembled dual-layer film was grafted onto Au surface with a simple three-step method. Firstly, (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) molecules were self-assembled on Au surfaces through S–Au bond followed by hydrolysis and condensation, then the octadecyltrichlorosilane molecules were attached to the resultant hydroxyl terminated surface via the Si–O–Si bonds. The structure and morphology of the film were characterized by means of contact angle measurement, ellipsometry, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transformed infrared spectra, and atomic force microscopy. The resistant ability of charge transfer in the film forming process was detected by electrochemical techniques. Using force–volume technique, we investigated how the different surface chemical groups influence the surface adhesion properties. The nano-friction properties of the as-prepared films were investigated by frictional force microscopy. The results indicated that the dual-layer film fabricated via the hydrolyzation of MPTMS underlayer had significantly less friction. Moreover, compared to the self-assembled monolayer of octadecane thiol, the resultant dual-layer film showed much less wear. This improvement was mainly ascribed to the existence of the network of lateral cross-linked polysiloxane layer within the film which can enhance the stability of the film.     

Nonvolatile polymer memory device based on bistable electrical switching in a thin film of poly(N-vinylcarbazole) with covalently bonded C60

A functional polymer (PVK-C60), containing carbazole moieties (electron donors) and fullerene moieties (electron-acceptors) in a molar ratio of about 100:1, was synthesized via covalent tethering of C60 to poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK). The molecular structure and composition of PVK-C60 were characterized by FTIR, Raman, and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and cyclic voltammetry (CyV). The C60-modified PVK exhibited an enhanced glass-transition temperature (Tg = 226 degrees C) and good solubility in organic solvents such as toluene, tetrahydrofuran, chloroform, and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). It could be cast into transparent films from solutions. For a thin film of PVK-C60 sandwiched between an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode and an Al electrode (ITO/PVK-C60/Al), the device behaved as nonvolatile flash (rewritable) memory with accessible electronic states that could be written, read, and erased. The polymer memory exhibited an ON/OFF current ratio of more than 105 and write/erase voltages around -2.8 V/+3.0 V. Both the ON and OFF states were stable under a constant voltage stress of -1 V for 12 h and survived up to 108 read cycles at -1 V under ambient conditions.     

C60 thin film growth on graphite: Coexistence of spherical and fractal-dendritic islands

The initial growth stage of C(60) thin film on graphite substrate has been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum at room temperature. The C(60) layer grows in a quasi-layer-by-layer mode and forms round, monolayer high islands on the graphite surface. The islands are confined by terraces on the graphite surface and the mobility of C(60) fullerenes across steps is low in all layers. The second and all subsequent layers adopt a fractal-dendritic shape, which was confirmed by calculating the fractal dimension (D=1.74 prior to island coalescence) and is in agreement with a diffusion limited aggregation. The profound differences between the growth of C(60) layers on graphite (first layer) and on C(60) surfaces (second and higher layers) are caused by the restriction of the C(60) mobility on the highly corrugated fullerene surfaces. The orientation of the fractal islands follows the hexagonal symmetry of the densely packed (111) surface of the fullerene lattice, which introduces a bias in the direction of molecule movement. The differences in surface topography on the nanoscale determine the mode of film growth in this van der Waals bonded system.     

Disjoining pressure measurements using a microfabricated groove for a molecularly thin polymer liquid film on a solid surface

A method for measuring disjoining pressure of a molecularly thin liquid film on a solid surface by using a microfabricated groove has been developed. The shape of the meniscus of a thin film in the microgroove was measured with an atomic force microscope, and the disjoining pressure was obtained from the capillary pressure obtained from the measured curvature of the meniscus. Our method is applicable to a film with a thickness greater than the diameter of gyration in the polymer molecule. Moreover, the method can detect the changes in the disjoining pressure caused by ultraviolet light irradiation, and it is effective in investigating the intermolecular interaction between a thin film and a solid surface.     

Covalent adlayer growth on a diamond thin film surface

The surface of boron-doped diamond thin films can be modified by exposure to a strong oxidizing agent, resulting in the formation of -OH and =O terminated diamond. The -OH groups are reacted with an acid chloride to produce a covalently bound, modified diamond thin film surface. The demonstration of these reactions allows for the facile modification of diamond surfaces using techniques well established for oxide surfaces. Characterization of the covalently bound species shows submonolayer coverage, and time-resolved fluorescence measurements are reflective of the highly featured nature of the diamond film.     

Preparation of thin film standards for trace element studies in water

Three methods namely precipitation separation technique, vacuum vapour deposition and solution deposit methods were chosen for the preparation of thin film standars. Recovery of the material, reproducibility of the procedure, uniformity of the standards and XRF spectrometer sensitivity tests for Fe, Zn and Pb were conducted. Precipitation separation technique seems to be a promising technique for such a work.     

Diffusion,evaporation, and surface enrichment of a plasticizing additive in an annealed polymer thin film

We present the first measurements of the simultaneous diffusion, surface enhancement, and evaporation of a plasticizer from a polymer, thin-film matrix using neutron reflection techniques. The reflectivity profiles as a function of the annealing time at an elevated temperature yield the time-dependent, plasticizer volume fraction profiles in a polyester–polyurethane (Estane) film. Thin, plasticizer-enriched layers form at both the polymer/substrate and polymer/air interfaces for annealed and unannealed samples. The diffusion equations for a material diffusing through a film and then evaporating into a vacuum at the free surface describe the loss of the plasticizer from the film for annealed samples. The loss of the plasticizer from the film is not limited by the movement of the plasticizer through the polymer matrix but is dominated by the plasticizer's rate of evaporation from the surface. The rate of evaporation and the volume fraction profiles for the plasticizer at the substrate interface are both consistent with surface attractions dominating over bulk attractions between the miscible plasticizer and the polymer. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3258–3266, 2004     

In situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic and density-functional studies of Si atoms adsorbed on a C60 film

The interaction between C(60) and Si atoms has been investigated for Si atoms adsorbed on a C(60) film using in situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and density-functional (DFT) calculations. Analysis of the Si 2p core peak identified three kinds of Si atoms adsorbed on the film: silicon suboxides (SiO(x)), bulk Si crystal, and silicon atoms bound to C(60). Based on the atomic percent ratio of silicon to carbon, we estimated that there was approximately one Si atom bound to each C(60) molecule. The Si 2p peak due to the Si-C(60) interaction demonstrated that a charge transfer from the Si atom to the C(60) molecule takes place at room temperature, which is much lower than the temperature of 670 K at which the charge transfer was observed for C(60) adsorbed on Si(001) and (111) clean surfaces [Sakamoto et al., Phys. Rev. B 60, 2579 (1999)]. The number of electrons transferred between the C(60) molecule and Si atom was estimated to be 0.59 based on XPS results, which is in good agreement with the DFT result of 0.63 for a C(60)Si with C(2v) symmetry used as a model cluster. Furthermore, the shift in binding energy of both the Si 2p and C 1s core peaks before and after Si-atom deposition was experimentally obtained to be +2.0 and -0.4 eV, respectively. The C(60)Si model cluster provides the shift of +2.13 eV for the Si 2p core peak and of -0.28 eV for the C 1s core peak, which are well corresponding to those experimental results. The covalency of the Si-C(60) interaction was also discussed in terms of Mulliken overlap population between them.     

Ordered droplet formation by thin polymer film dewetting on a stripe-patterned substrate

The dewetting process of thin polystyrene (PS) film on flat and stripe-patterned substrates is presented. Different dewetting processes were observed when the thin PS films annealed at above the glass transition temperature on these different kinds of substrates. The final dewetting on the flat substrate led to formation of polygonal liquid droplets, while on the stripe-patterned substrate, the droplets were observed to align at the centers of the stripes. A possible explanation for the dewetting process on the stripe-patterned substrate is proposed.     

Two-layer model description of polymer thin film dynamics

Experiments in the past two decades have shown that the glass transition temperature of polymer films can become noticeably different from that of the bulk when the film thickness is decreased below ca. 100 nm. It is broadly believed that these observations are caused by a nanometer interfacial layer with dynamics faster or slower than that of the bulk. In this paper, we examine how this idea may be realized by using a two-layer model assuming a hydrodynamic coupling between the interfacial layer and the remaining, bulk-like layer in the film. Illustrative examples will be given showing how the two-layer model is applied to the viscosity measurements of polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate films supported by silicon oxide, where divergent thickness dependences are observed.     

Stability studies of an electrochemically formed [C60]fullerene-palladium two-component film

The stability of C₆₀ and palladium two-component films, C₆₀/Pd, has been investigated. The effect of different polymerization conditions on the electrochemical stability of the film upon prolonged potential cycling has been studied. Stable voltammetric behavior was observed for polymers formed at potentials less negative than the potential of third C₆₀ reduction step. The incorporation of palladium particles into the structure of C₆₀/Pd polymers increases the polymer stability. The C₆₀/Pd films are doped with supporting electrolyte cations during reduction. The size of these cations is a crucial factor in determining the stability of the film. A strong solvent effect on the potential stability of the film was also observed. The wildest range of stable voltammetric properties was found for acetonitrile and N,N-dimethylformamide. No effect of the temperature on the film stability was observed. The results reported in this work allow for the determination of the optimal conditions for the formation of stable C₆₀/Pd films.     

聚苯胺-邻氨基酚膜修饰电极的制备及其应用

通过循环伏安法(CV)将苯胺(AN)-邻氨基酚(OAP)修饰在玻碳电极(GCE)表面,制备出聚苯胺-邻氨基酚聚合物膜修饰电极(PAN-OAP/GCE),并用该电极对抗坏血酸(AA)进行测定。分别对OAP与AN聚合浓度比和磷酸缓冲溶液(PBS)pH进行优化。结果表明OAP与AN浓度比为1:14,pH为6.80时,所得聚合物膜修饰电极具有良好的电化学催化活性和稳定性。同时,在0.1 mol/L PBS(pH 6.80)中,采用差分脉冲伏安法(DPV)对AA进行测定,结果表明PAN-OAP/GCE电极对AA具有明显的电化学催化氧化作用,且AA在膜修饰电极上的响应电流和其浓度在1.50×10-8～2.12×10-6mol/L范围内呈良好的线性关系,线性回归方程为ip=1.0344c+0.0183,相关系数为0.9988。检测限可达5.0×10-9mol/L。该修饰电极具有较高的灵敏度和选择性,用于样品中AA的检测,回收率为96.0%～101.2%。     

Formation of regular nanoscale undulations on a thin polymer film imprinted by a soft mold

We observed the formation of regular nanoscale undulations on a polystyrene film when imprinted by a soft poly(dimethylsiloxane) mold above the polymer's glass transition temperature. The shape of the wave was reminiscent of a buckling wave frequently observed for a metal film supported on an elastomeric substrate. We derived a simple theoretical model based on an anisotropic buckling of the polymer film rigidly bound to a substrate, which agrees well with the experiment.     

Band structure studies on crystalline C60, Ca3C60, and Ca5C60

The three-dimensional EHMO crystal orbital calculations for crystalline C₆₀, Ca₃C₆₀, and Ca₅C₆₀ are reported. The ground states of both undoped solid C₆₀ and partially doped Ca₃C₆₀ are found to be insulating with an indirect energy gap of 1.2 and 0.5 eV, respectively. In contrast, Ca₅C₆₀ forms a metallic conducting phase with a set of three half-filled bands crossing the Fermi level, which is found to be located close to a peak of the density of state. The character of crystal orbitals near the Fermi level for both Ca₃C₆₀ and Ca₅C₆₀ is completely carbonlike. In both cases, the Ca atoms are almost fully ionized and C₆₀ molecules form a stable negative charge state with six to 10 additional electrons. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A reduction of the high symmetry of C60 in a PMMA polymer film as revealed by electroabsorption spectra

The absorption band of C₆₀ and C₇₀ located at 331 nm and 380 nm, respectively, in a PMMA polymer film shows a strong electric field effect, and the observed electroabsorption spectra are simulated by a superposition of the absorption spectrum, its first and the second derivative spectra, suggesting that electric dipole moment and molecular polarizability change following excitation into these bands. The presence of the electric dipole moment implies that inversion center does not exist in a polymer film not only on C₇₀ but also on C₆₀ in the ground state or/and the excited state.     

In-situ infrared spectroscopy of a photoirradiated potassium-doped C60 film

Photodimerization between C₆₀ molecules in a potassium-doped C₆₀ film (a mixture of α-C₆₀ and K₃C₆₀ phases) has been investigated using in-situ Fourier-transform (FT) infrared spectroscopy in combination with tight-binding molecular dynamics calculations. A comparison of the experimental spectrum of C₆₀ dimers, which was found to be a main product in the photoirradiated K-doped film using an FT mass spectrometer, with the theoretical spectra for several isomers of C₁₂₀ suggests that C₁₂₀ species with structures similar to a bucky peanut were formed in the photoirradiated film.     

Effect of surface mobility on the uniformity of a thin film under a bubble

The shape of a soap bubble placed on a solid surface is familiar to everyone-a thin hemispherical dome that thickens near the solid surface. This structure is stabilized by the balance between the film's elasticity, provided by surfactant molecules, and the pressure inside the bubble. However, there is also a soap film on the flat solid surface that has been mostly ignored in previous studies; its thickness is typically assumed to be constant or varying monotonically. In this letter, for the first time, we show that the thickness of this film is not always monotonic. Depending on the surfactant type, it can exhibit a significant dip, similar to marginal pinching. This finding has a significant influence in numerous applications in which solid/foam interactions are important, such as oil extraction or foam-based drug delivery.     

Stability of thin stagnant film on a solid surface with a viscoelastic air-liquid interface

Linear stability analysis for a film on a solid surface with a viscoelastic air-liquid interface is presented. The interfacial dilatational and shear viscoelastic properties were described by Maxwell models. Dilatational and shear interfacial elasticity and viscosity were shown to improve film stability. When the interfacial rheological properties are extremely large or small, the maximum perturbation growth coefficient is shown to reduce to those for immobile and mobile interfaces respectively. Calculated values of maximum growth coefficient for thin film stabilized by 0.5% beta-lactoglobulin approached those of mobile films for thick (>2000 nm) and those for immobile films for thin (<100 nm) films respectively with the values lying between the two limits for intermediate film thicknesses.     

Physisorption of molecular oxygen on C60 thin films

The interaction of oxygen molecules with a fullerene surface has been studied using high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy and temperature programmed desorption. Vibrational excitation of the adsorbed oxygen is observed at 190 meV, an energy value comparable with that for molecular oxygen in the gas phase. We take this to indicate physisorption of molecular oxygen on the C(60) surface. Thermal desorption results also show that the bonding of oxygen molecules to the C(60) overlayer is comparable to that on a graphite surface. A detailed study of the energy dependence of the vibrational excitation reveals an inelastic electron resonance scattering process. The angular dependence of the resonant vibrational excitation exhibits features distinctively different from those for molecular oxygen physisorbed on the related graphite surface, at a comparable coverage. One possible reason is that the corrugated surface potential, due to the curvature of the C(60) molecules, promotes the preferential ordering of the physisorbed oxygen molecules perpendicular to the surface plane of the C(60) overlayer.