Chemical composition and properties of films produced from hexamethyldisilazane by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Relationships between the chemical composition of the gas phase and the properties of SiC_xN_yH_z films produced from hexamethyldisilazane by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition have been studied. The plasma composition has been examined by optical emission spectroscopy. Thermal analysis of the films with simultaneous mass spectrometric detection of released gases has been performed. On the basis of the results and published data, mechanisms for the formation of films by plasma polymerization have been proposed and the film growth at a low plasma power and high reactor temperatures has been found to follow the heterogeneous mechanism.     

Optical properties of plasma polymer films with encapsulated silver particles

Plasma polymer thin films with encapsulated small metal particles were prepared by simultaneous plasma polymerization and metal evaporation. Based on transmission electron microscope (TEM) micrographs, particle size and shape were analysed on films with continuously varying filling factor. Thermal annealing causes dramatic changes of the particle size and shape. The optical (UV, VIS, NIR) properties of the films were determined by the UV-absorption of the plasma polymer and by the plasma resonance absorption of the metal particles. The changes in the transmission spectra during thermal annealing were simulated with different effective medium theories. The calculated transmission spectra were fitted to the experimental spectra.     

Photoelectrochemical properties of TiO2 films obtained by electrical explosion

The electrical explosion of wires was used to prepare titanium dioxide nanopowders alloyed with silver nanoparticles. The photoelectrochemical properties and electronic structure of these materials were studied. The quantum yield for the photoelectrochemical current η and the flat band potential E _fb for TiO₂/Ag films were found to be proportional to the content of the Ag⁰ phase on the electrode surface.     

Electroconductive polymer films obtained by plasma polymerization of 1-amino-9,10-anthraquinone

Russian Chemical Bulletin -     

Unusual catalytic properties of nanostructured nickel films obtained by laser electrodispersion

Nanostructured nickel films deposited by laser electrodispersion onto a silicon (semiconducting) or thermally oxidized silicon (insulating) substrate show a remarkably high catalytic activity (of the order of 10³–10⁴ (mol product) (mol Ni)^?1 h^?1) in the isomerization of chlorinated hydrocarbons and olefin hydrogenation. The special properties of the laser-deposited films are likely due to the small size (2.5 nm), developed surface, and amorphism of the nickel particles, as well as to highly active, charged particles appearing on the insulating substrate. The latter result from thermal fluctuations of electrons between closely spaced particles. In a film deposited on silicon covered with a natural oxide layer, a significant role is also played by charge redistribution between the substrate and metal particles.     

Optical properties of pentacene and perfluoropentacene thin films

The optical properties of pentacene (PEN) and perfluoropentacene (PFP) thin films on various SiO(2) substrates were studied using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. Structural characterization was performed using x-ray reflectivity and atomic force microscopy. A uniaxial model with the optic axis normal to the sample surface was used to analyze the ellipsometry data. A strong optical anisotropy was observed, and enabled the direction of the transition dipole of the absorption bands to be determined. Furthermore, comparison of the optical constants of PEN and PFP thin films with the absorption spectra of the monomers in solution shows significant changes due to the crystalline environment. Relative to the monomer spectrum, the highest occupied molecular orbital to lowest unoccupied molecular orbital transition observed in PEN (PFP) thin film is reduced by 210 meV (280 meV). A second absorption band in the PFP thin film shows a slight blueshift (40 meV) compared to the spectrum of the monomer with its transition dipole perpendicular to that of the first absorption band.     

Optical properties and structure of drawn polyethyleneterephtalate-polyethylene films

Films made by coextrusion of polyethyleneterephtalate and low density polyethylene exhibit specular reflection of light when stretched. Unlike the behaviour of films made of pure PET, where specular reflection is rare and does occur at extremely high stretching rates only, PET/LDPE films show specular reflection independent of the stretching rate.A film, containing 70% PET and 30% LDPE, prepared by coextrusion of the two components, has been investigated by scanning electron microscopy, light microscopy and by measuring the optical properties with a spectrophotometer. The (unstretched) as prepared sample has been compared with a sample stretched to =4.The optical measurements show as a result of the stretching a strong decrease of the transmittance and an increase of the remittance. While there is no drastic change of the dispersion (which is only slight), the increase of the refractive index indicates some straininduced crystallization.The scanning electron micrographs show long, needlelike voids and indicate a fractionation of the two components as a result of the stretching. This fractionation has been investigated by heating the samples up under the light microscope: while the stretched sample shows a separation of the components, the unstretched sample does not.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. F. H. Müller.     

Structural and mechanical properties of Laponite-PEG hybrid films

Inorganic/organic hybrids were obtained by the sol-gel type organic modification reaction of Laponite sidewalls with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) bearing alkoxysiloxy terminal functionality. By casting an aqueous dispersion of the hybrid, the flexible and transparent hybrid films were obtained. Regardless of the inorganic/organic component ratio, the hybrid film had the ordered structure of Laponite in-plane flat arrays. The mechanical strength of hybrid films was drastically improved by the presence of cross-linking among alkoxysilyl functionalities of PEG terminals and the absence of PEG crystallines. Hybrid films, especially those that consisted of PEG with short chain, showed good mechanical properties that originate from quasi-homogeneous dispersion of components due to anchoring of PEG terminal to Laponite sidewall and interaction of PEG to Laponite surface.     

Film deposition in a radial flow reactor by plasma polymerization of hexamethyldisilazane

Polymeric substrates can be coated at low temperatures by means of an electric discharge fed by organic gases. Since both the composition and the structure of the deposited material can be varied in a wide range by the choice of starting compound and deposition conditions, the properties of the coatings can be adjusted specifically to fulfill many required demands. After a general introduction of the deposition method, a typical deposition apparatus is described and an optimization procedure of the deposition process is proposed.The intermediate position of plasma polymerized materials between common polymers and amorphous solids is demonstrated for films from hexamethyldisilazane. Based on the assumption of a continuous random network structure the density of covalent bonds and the total volume fraction of micro-voids can be evaluated and compared with application relevant properties such as mechanical stiffness and gas permeability.The model of a continuous random network structure may be valid for plasma polymerized material in general.     

Optical properties and orientation in polyethylene blown films

We report structural factors affecting the optical properties of blown polyethylene films. Two types of blown polyethylene films of similar degrees of crystallinity were made from (1) single‐site‐catalyst high‐density polyethylene (HDPE; STAR α) and (2) Ziegler–Natta‐catalyst HDPE (ZN) resins. The STAR α film exhibited high clarity and gloss, whereas the ZN film was turbid. Small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS), small‐angle light scattering (SALS), and optical microscopy gave quantitative and qualitative information regarding structure and orientation in the films. A new approach is described for determining the three‐dimensional lamellar normal orientation from SAXS. Both the clear STAR α and turbid ZN films had similar lamellar crystalline structures and long periods but displayed different degrees of orientation. It is demonstrated that optical haze is related to surface features that seem to be linked to the bulk morphology. The relationship between haze and structural orientation is described. The lamellar orientation is linked to rodlike structures seen in optical microscopy and SALS through a stacked lamellar or cylindrite morphology on a nanometer scale and through a fiberlike morphology on a micrometer scale. The micrometer‐scale, rodlike structures seem directly related to surface roughness in a comparison of index‐matched immersion and surface micrographs. The higher haze and lower gloss of the ZN film was caused by extensive surface roughness not observed in the STAR α film. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 39: 2923–2936, 2001     

Structural and ferromagnetic properties of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films obtained by polymer-assisted deposition

Epitaxial ferromagnetic SrRuO3 thin films with a room-temperature resistivity of 300 microOmega.cm have been successfully grown on LaAlO3(001) substrates at a processing temperature in the range of 550-750 degrees C by a polymer-assisted deposition technique. X-ray diffraction analysis shows good epitaxial quality of SrRuO3 thin films, giving values of the full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 0.42 degrees from the rocking curve for the (002) reflection and 1.1 degrees from the in-plane phi scan for the (204) reflection. Both the resistivity and the magnetization versus temperature measurements show that the SrRuO3 films are ferromagnetic with a transition temperature of 160 K. The spontaneous magnetization near the ferromagnetic transition follows the scaling law, and the low-temperature magnetization follows the Bloch law.     

Optical and dielectrical properties of azo quinoline thin films

In this study, the optical and dielectrical properties of a novel series of quinoline azodyes (5-(4′-derivatives phenyl azo)-8-hydroxy-7-quinolinecarboxaldehyde) (AQL₁–AQL₅) were investigated and the obtained results were analyzed. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of AQL_n show that the materials in the powder form are a mixture of amorphous and crystalline structure, while the thermally deposited thin films are completely amorphous. The optical constants such as the refractive index, n, the absorption index, k and the absorption coefficient, α, were determined using spectrophotometric measurements of transmittance (T) and reflectance (R) in the wavelength range 200–2500 nm. According to the single oscillator model (SOM), some related parameters such as oscillation energy (E_o), the dispersion energy (E_d), the optical dielectric constant (ε_∞), the lattice dielectric constant (ε_L) and the ratio of free carrier concentration to its effective mass (N/m*) are estimated. The emission spectra of azo quinoline ligands (AQL_n) exhibit dual fluorescence peaks in the region 512–580 nm. This finding reveals the formation of two stoichiometric hydrogen-bonding in the ground and excited state. The dielectrical properties and alternating current conductivity (σ_AC) are investigated in temperature range 298–483 K and frequency range 0.1–100 KHz.     

Crystalline properties and decomposition kinetics of cellulose fibers in wood pulp obtained by two pulping processes

In this study two cellulose fibers, Eucalyptus grandis (CEG) and Pinus taeda (CPT), obtained through the kraft and sulfite pulping processes, respectively, were characterized. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were carried out. From the XRD analysis the interplanar distance, crystallite size and crystallinity index were calculated and the degradation kinetics parameters were determined by TGA at heating rates of 5, 10, 20 and 40 °C min⁻¹ using the Avrami, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and Criado methods. The results obtained by FTIR showed that the composition of the fibers is similar, while from the XRD analysis slight differences in the crystallinity were observed. The thermogravimetric analysis showed higher thermal stability for CPT than CEG while the values for the activation energy (E_a) were higher for CEG than CPT. The results obtained by Avrami and Criado methods showed that the degradation mechanism in the CEG samples involves a diffusion process while in the case of CPT the degradation process is a phase boundary controlled reaction. The degradation mechanisms demonstrated that the difference between thermal stability and E_a may be due to differences in the type of crystalline structure of the samples obtained through the two pulping processes.     

Electrical and mechanical properties of the zone-drawn polypyrrole films

The zone-drawing method (ZD) was applied to electrochemically synthesized polypyrrole films containing tosylate (PPy/TsO) and the mechanical and electrical properties of the resulting films were investigated. It was found that the electrical conductivity of the zone-drawn film reached 365 S cm⁻¹ in the drawing direction, which was 4.7 times that of the original film. The tensile properties of the zone-drawn film were improved and Young's modulus and strength at break increased to 4.32 GPa and 90.1 MPa from 0.53 GPa and 40.4 MPa of the as-synthesized film, respectively. The dynamic storage modulus (E) increased by the zone-drawing over a whole experimental temperature range and attained 7.0 GPa at room temperature and 4.0 GPa even at 200°C. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Optical properties of mesoporous II-VI semiconductor compound films

Direct liquid crystal templating from non-ionic polyoxyethylene surfactants has been utilised to produce well-defined birefringent films of nanostructured cadmium telluride films which displayed good optical properties as evidenced by UV/VIS reflectance spectroscopy.     

Optical properties of hybrid dendritic-mesoporous titania nanocomposite films

New hybrid optical sensors have been prepared by grafting specifically designed fluorescent, functionalised, phosphorus-containing dendrimers onto a nanocrystalline mesoporous titania thin film formed by evaporation-induced self-assembly. The structural characterisation and optical behaviour of these new fluorescent probes have been studied both in solution and after being grafted onto an inorganic network, which resulted in the discovery of improved probing selectivity in the solid state. This new hybrid sensor exhibits high sensitivity to phenolic OH moieties (especially those from resorcinol and 2-nitroresorcinol), which induce the quenching of fluorescence more efficiently in the solid state than in solution. This effect is a result of the increased spatial proximity of the fluorescent molecules, which is induced by pore confinement that makes the formation of hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl moieties of the quenchers and the carbonyl groups of the dendrimer easier.     

Optical properties of polymer films for transparent insulation

Commercially available, highly transparent polymer films for transparent insulation applications were investigated systematically as to their relevant optical properties in the solar and infrared wavelength range. The photometric characterisation in the solar range and the calculation of non-spectral, solar optical film properties using models for scattering-absorbing media have shown, that the solar extinction is dominated by scattering occuring mainly at the surface. For various amorphous and semi-crystalline films the root-mean-square surface roughness correlated well with the solar optical thickness. Regarding high infrared absorptance in the wavelength range of about 10 μm the carbon-oxygen single bond is highly effective for commercial materials with maximum service temperatures of about 100°C. For 50 μm thick films of different polymer types with carbon-oxygen single bonds in the molecular structure a good correlation between the concentration of the functional corbon-oxygen group and the nonspectral, infrared optical thickness was found.     

Thermoluminescence of thin polymeric films obtained in a glow discharge plasma

The thermoluminescence and radiothermoluminescence were studied of thin polymeric films produced in a glow discharge plasma. It was shown that during the formation of polymeric films in the plasma, not only radical states but also ionic states are stabilized in them. Four luminescence maxima were detected on the radiothermoluminescence curves of the films. The possible assignment of the position of these maxima on a temperature scale to the relaxational transitions in the films is discussed.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 24, No. 6, pp. 743–747, November–December, 1988.     

Optical and electrical properties of copper-doped nano-crystallite CdO thin films

Thin films of Cu-doped CdO (CdO:Cu) with different Cu% content were prepared in high vacuum on glass and Si substrates. The samples were characterised X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and dc-electrical measurements. The XRD study reveals the formation of single crystalline phase CdO:Cu of CdO structure with a preferential [111] orientation. However, with increasing of Cu% content, the crystal structure was gradually deteriorated. SEM study shows formation of granular structure with rice shape grains of average size ∼500 nm. The optical study shows that Cu doping increased the films transparency with a slight blueshift for the bandgap. The calculated optical constants for pure and Cu-doped CdO were analysed with Forouhi–Bloomer (FB), Wemple–Didomenico (WD), and Spitzer–Fan (SF) models. Good agreements were obtained between electrical and optical (through SF model) measurements. The electrical measurements show that the utmost enhancement in mobility (82.5 cm²/V s) and conductivity (1428.6 S/cm) was found with 2.3% Cu sample. The optoelectronic study was analysed through the available BGW and BGN models that show close theoretical to the experimental results. In general, the films of CdO prepared with light Cu doping have optical and electrical characteristics suitable for various applications in material sciences and optoelectronic devices.