Fabrication and characterization of thin films of single-walled carbon nanotube bundles on flexible plastic substrates

A convenient method to obtain patterns of films of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) bundles on flexible plastic is described. Using the Line Patterning method SWNT films of thickness ranging from approximately 300-1500 nm can be obtained from aqueous surfactant-supported dispersions of chemically purified SWNT bundles synthesized by the pulsed-laser ablation method. These films are strongly adherent and are competitive in performance with commercially available films of indium-tin-oxide (ITO) on plastics. For example, an approximately 1500 thick film of SWNT on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) shows a surface resisitvity of approximately 80 Omega/sq, optical transparency >80%, and robust flexibility. Unlike ITO/PET, films of SWNT/PET can be folded and bent to a crease without cracking. The simple techniques involoved in obtaining these films (i.e., those without requiring lithography or ink-jet printing) could help facilitate the rapid fabrication of transparent, flexible electronic devices, heralding what promises to be a new approach towards the development of next-generation optoelectronic devices.     

Characterizing the molecular order of phosphonic acid self-assembled monolayers on indium tin oxide surfaces

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanephosphonic acids with chain lengths between 8 and 18 carbon units were formed on thin films of indium tin oxide (ITO) sputter-deposited on silicon substrates with 400 nm thermally grown SiO(2). The silicon substrates, while not intended for use in near-IR or visible optics applications, do provide smooth surfaces that permit systematic engineering of grain size and surface roughness as a function of the sputter pressure. Argon sputter pressures from 4 to 20 mTorr show systematic changes in surface morphology ranging from smooth, micrometer-sized grain structures to <50 nm grains with 3× higher surface roughness. Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy experiments are conducted for alkanephosphonic acids deposited on these wide range of ITO surfaces to evaluate the effects of these morphological features on monolayer ordering. Results indicate that long-chain SAMs are more highly ordered, and have a smaller tilt angle, than short-chain SAMs. Surprisingly, the 1-octadecyl phosphonic acids maintain their order as the lateral grain dimensions of the ITO surface shrink to ～50 nm. It is only when the ITO surface roughness becomes greater than the SAM chain length (～15 ?) that SAMs are observed to become relatively disordered.     

Langmuir-Blodgett films of a cationic zinc porphyrin-imidazole-functionalized fullerene dyad: formation and photoelectrochemical studies

Electron donor-acceptor dyad ensembles of a water-soluble cationic zinc porphyrin (viz., zinc tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium)porphyrin tetrachloride, Zn(TMPyP)) and a C60 derivative that bears an imidazole ligand (viz., 2-(phenylimidazolyl)fulleropyrrolidine, C60im) were assembled during the formation of Langmuir and then Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films. Surface pressure versus surface area isotherms and surface pressure time profiles, as well as Brewster angle microscopic images documented that the Langmuir films formed were remarkably stable. Subsequently, these Langmuir films were transferred onto different solid substrates, by using the LB technique, for spectroscopic and photoelectrochemical characterization. The UV-vis spectroscopic investigations confirmed that the water-soluble Zn(TMPyP) was, indeed, transferred together with C60im in the LB films. Upon visible light illumination of these LB films, deposited on the ITO transparent conductive supports, a photocurrent generated in the C60im-Zn(TMPyP) system is ascribed to an efficient photoinduced electron transfer from the electron donor, porphyrin singlet excited-state to the electron acceptor, C60. Overall, internal photon-to-current efficiency, IPCE, of the photoanodic current generation (with ascorbate as a sacrificial electron donor) in the ITO/C60im-Zn(TMPyP)/ascorbate/Pt construct is over 5x larger than that of the photocathodic system (with methyl viologen, MV2+, as a sacrificial electron acceptor) in the ITO/Zn(TMPyP)-C60im/MV2+/Pt construct. Highly ordered film stacking favors vectorial electron transfer within the dyad, giving rise to the highest IPCE values of 2.5% determined for a photoanode that was composed of around 20 monolayer films.     

Additive-Free Electrophoretic Deposition of Graphene Quantum Dots Thin Films

The electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of graphene-based materials on transparent substrates is highly potential for many applications. Several factors can determine the yield of the EPD process, such as applied voltage, deposition time and particularly the presence of dispersion additives (stabilisers) in the suspension solution. This study presents an additive-free EPD of graphene quantum dot (GQD) thin films on an indium tin oxide (ITO) glass substrate and studies the deposition mechanism with the variation of the applied voltage (10–50 V) and deposition time (5–25 min). It is found that due to the small size (≈3.9 nm) and high content of deprotonated carboxylic groups, the GQDs form a stable dispersion (zeta-potential of about −35 mV) without using additives. The GQD thin films can be deposited onto ITO with optimal surface morphology at 30 V in 5 min (surface roughness of approximately (3.1±1.3) nm). In addition, as-fabricated GQD thin films also possess some interesting physico-optical properties, such as a double-peak photoluminescence at about λ=417 and 439 nm, with approximately 98 % visible transmittance. This low-cost and eco-friendly GQD thin film is a promising material for various applications, for example, transparent conductors, supercapacitors and heat conductive films in smart windows.     

Free-standing mesoporous carbon thin films with highly ordered pore architectures for nanodevices

We report for the first time the synthesis of free-standing mesoporous carbon films with highly ordered pore architecture by a simple coating-etching approach, which have an intact morphology with variable sizes as large as several square centimeters and a controllable thickness of 90 nm to ～3 μm. The mesoporous carbon films were first synthesized by coating a resol precursors/Pluronic copolymer solution on a preoxidized silicon wafer and forming highly ordered polymeric mesostructures based on organic-organic self-assembly, followed by carbonizing at 600 °C and finally etching of the native oxide layer between the carbon film and the silicon substrate. The mesostructure of this free-standing carbon film is confirmed to be an ordered face-centered orthorhombic Fmmm structure, distorted from the (110) oriented body-centered cubic Im3?m symmetry. The mesoporosity of the carbon films has been evaluated by nitrogen sorption, which shows a high specific BET surface area of 700 m(2)/g and large uniform mesopores of ～4.3 nm. Both mesostructures and pore sizes can be tuned by changing the block copolymer templates or the ratio of resol to template. These free-standing mesoporous carbon films with cracking-free uniform morphology can be transferred or bent on different surfaces, especially with the aid of the soft polymer layer transfer technique, thus allowing for a variety of potential applications in electrochemistry and biomolecule separation. As a proof of concept, an electrochemical supercapacitor device directly made by the mesoporous carbon thin films shows a capacitance of 136 F/g at 0.5 A/g. Moreover, a nanofilter based on the carbon films has shown an excellent size-selective filtration of cytochrome c and bovine serum albumin.     

A Facile Solution-Phase Approach to Transparent and Conducting ITO Nanocrystal Assemblies

Monodisperse 11 nm indium tin oxide (ITO) nanocrystals (NCs) were synthesized by thermal decomposition of indium acetylacetonate, In(acac)(3), and tin bis(acetylacetonate)dichloride, Sn(acac)(2)Cl(2), at 270 °C in 1-octadecene with oleylamine and oleic acid as surfactants. Dispersed in hexane, these ITO NCs were spin-cast on centimeter-wide glass substrates, forming uniform ITO NC assemblies with root-mean-square roughness of 2.9 nm. The assembly thickness was controlled by ITO NC concentrations in hexane and rotation speeds of the spin coater. Via controlled thermal annealing at 300 °C for 6 h under Ar and 5% H(2), the ITO NC assemblies became conductive and transparent with the 146 nm-thick assembly showing 5.2 × 10(-3) Ω·cm (R(s) = 356 Ω/sq) resistivity and 93% transparency in the visible spectral range-the best values ever reported for ITO NC assemblies prepared from solution phase processes. The stable hexane dispersion of ITO NCs was also readily spin-cast on polyimide (T(g) ～360 °C), and the resultant ITO assembly exhibited a comparable conductivity and transparency to the assembly on a glass substrate. The reported synthesis and assembly provide a promising solution to the fabrication of transparent and conducting ITO NCs on flexible substrates for optoelectronic applications.     

Single-walled carbon nanotubes/polymer composite electrodes patterned directly from solution

This work describes a simple technique for direct patterning of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT-PSS) composite electrodes in a large area on a substrate based on the solution transfer process by microcontact printing using poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamps. Various shapes of SWNT/PEDOT-PSS composite patterns, such as line, circle, and square, can be easily fabricated with high pattern fidelity and structural integrity. The single parallel line pattern device exhibits high electrical conductivity (0.75 × 10(5) S/m) and electronic stability because of alignment of nanotubes and big-size SWNT bundles (～5 nm). The electromechanical study reveals that the composite patterns show ～1% resistance change along SWNT alignment direction and ～5% resistance change along vertical alignment direction after 200 bend cycles. Our approach provides a facile, low-cost method to pattern transparent conductive SWNT/polymer composite electrodes and demonstrates a novel platform for future integration of conducting SWNT/polymer composite patterns for optoelectronic applications.     

Microstructured silicone substrate for printable and stretchable metallic films

Stretchable electronics (i.e., hybrid inorganic or organic circuits integrated on elastomeric substrates) rely on elastic wiring. We present a technique for fabricating reversibly stretchable metallic films by printing silver-based ink onto microstructured silicone substrates. The wetting and pinning of the ink on the elastomer surface is adjusted and optimized by varying the geometry of micropillar arrays patterned on the silicone substrate. The resulting films exhibit high electrical conductivity (～11?000 S/cm) and can stretch reversibly to 20% strain over 1000 times without failing electrically. The stretchability of the ≥200 nm thick metallic film relies on engineered strain relief in the printed film on patterned PDMS.     

Thin Film of Perovskite Oxide with Atomic Scale p-n Junctions

Thin films of perovskite manganese oxide La_0.66Ca_0.29K_0.05MnO₃(LCKMO) on Au/ITO(ITO=indium tin oxide) substrates were prepared by off-axis radio frequency magnetron sputtering and characterized by X-ray diffraction( XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM), and conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) at room temperature. The thin films with thickness ranged from 100 nm to 300 nm basically show cubic structures with a=0.3886 nm, the same as that of the raw material used, but the structures are highly modulated. C-AFM results revealed that the atomic scale p-n junction feature of the thin films was the same as that of the single crystals. The preparation of the thin films thus further confirms the possibility of their application extending from micrometer-sized single crystals to macroscopic thin film.     

Transparent conductors from carbon nanotubes LBL-assembled with polymer dopant with π-π electron transfer

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) and other carbon-based coatings are being considered as replacements for indium tin oxide (ITO). The problems of transparent conductors (TCs) coatings from SWNT and similar materials include poor mechanical properties, high roughness, low temperature resilience, and fast loss of conductivity. The simultaneous realization of these desirable characteristics can be achieved using high structural control of layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition, which is demonstrated by the assembly of hydroethyl cellulose (HOCS) and sulfonated polyetheretherketone (SPEEK)-SWNTs. A new type of SWNT doping based on electron transfer from valence bands of nanotubes to unoccupied levels of SPEEK through π-π interactions was identified for this system. It leads to a conductivity of 1.1 × 10(5) S/m at 66 wt % loadings of SWNT. This is better than other polymer/SWNT composites and translates into surface conductivity of 920 Ω/? and transmittance of 86.7% at 550 nm. The prepared LBL films also revealed unusually high temperature resilience up to 500 °C, and low roughness of 3.5 nm (ITO glass -2.4 nm). Tensile modulus, ultimate strength, and toughness of such coatings are 13 ± 2 GPa, 366 ± 35 MPa, and 8 ± 3 kJ/m(3), respectively, and exceed corresponding parameters of all similar TCs. The cumulative figure of merit, ∏(TC), which included the critical failure strain relevant for flexible electronics, was ∏(TC) = 0.022 and should be compared to ∏(TC) = 0.006 for commercial ITO. Further optimization is possible using stratified nanoscale coatings and improved doping from the macromolecular LBL components.     

Influence of the substrate type on the microstructural,optical and electrical properties of sol–gel ITO films

Indium tin oxide (ITO) is recognized as the best transparent and conductive material [transparent conducting oxide (TCO)] until now and its properties are dependent on the preparation method. In the present work ITO films with In:Sn atomic ratio 9:1 were prepared by a sol–gel route on different substrates (microscope glass slides, microscope glass covered with one layer of SiO₂ and Si wafers) for TCO applications. The multilayer ITO films were obtained by successive deposition by the dip-coating method and the films were characterized from the structural, morphological, optical, and electrical points of view using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry and by Hall effect measurements, respectively. The results showed that the thickness, optical constants and carrier numbers depend strongly on the type of substrate, number of deposited layers and sol concentration. The optical properties of ITO films are closely related to their electrical properties. The enhancement of the conductivity was possible with the increase of crystallite size (which occurred after thermal treatment) and with the reduction of surface roughness.     

Photolithographic patterning of highly conductive PEDOT:PSS and its application in organic light‐emitting diodes

Photolithographically patterned highly conductive (～1400 S/cm) poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythio‐phene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films are demonstrated as electrodes for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). With the assistance of hydrofluoroether (HFE) solvents and fluorinated photoresists, high‐resolution passive‐matrix OLEDs with PEDOT:PSS electrodes are fabricated, in which the OLEDs show comparable performance to those devices prepared on the indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. This photolithographic patterning process for PEDTO:PSS has great potential for applications which require flexible electrodes. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014 , 52, 1221–1226     

Evolution of water vapor from indium-tin-oxide transparent conducting films fabricated by dip coating process

Tin-doped indium oxide In₂O₃ (indium-tin-oxide) transparent conducting films were fabricated on silicon substrates by a dip coating process. The thermal analysis of the ITO films was executed by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) or thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) in high vacuum. Gas evolution from the ITO film mainly consisted of water vapor. The total amount of evolved water vapor increased on increasing the film thickness from approx. 25 to 250 nm and decreased by increasing the preparation temperature from 365 to 600°C and by annealing at the same temperature for extra 10 h. The evolution occurred via two steps; the peak temperatures for 250 nm thick films were approx. 100-120 and 205-215°C. The 25 nm thick films evolved water vapor at much higher temperatures; a shoulder at approx. 150-165°C and a peak at approx. 242°C were observed. The evolution temperatures increased by increasing the preparation and the annealing temperatures except in case of the second peak of the 25 nm thick films. The evolution of water vapor at high temperature was tentatively attributed to thermal decomposition of indium hydroxide, In(OH)₃, formed on the surface of the nm-sized ITO particles. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Chemical Adsorption onto an ITO Substrate of Single‐Wall Carbon Nanotube Functionalized by Carboxylic Groups as an Efficient Support for Electrocatalyst

A single‐wall carbon nanotube functionalized by carboxylic groups (SWNT‐CA) was found to be adsorbed on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode by chemical interaction between carboxylic groups and the ITO surface. The adsorption experiments indicated that the narrow pH conditions (around pH 3.0) exist for its adsorption which is restricted by preparation of stable fluid dispersion (favorable at higher pH) and by the chemical interaction (favorable at lower pH). Atomic force microscopic (AFM) measurements suggest that fragmented SWNT‐CA are adsorbed, primarily lying on the surface. Electrochemical impedance analysis indicated that an electrochemical double layer capacitance of the SWNT‐CA/ITO electrode is considerably higher than that for the ITO electrode, suggesting that the interfacial area between the electrode surface and the electrolyte solution is enlarged by the SWNT‐CA layer. Pt particles were deposited as a catalyst on the bare ITO and SWNT‐CA‐coated ITO (SWNT‐CA/ITO) electrodes to give respective Pt‐modified electrodes (denoted as a Pt/ITO electrode and a Pt/SWNT‐CA/ITO electrode, respectively). The cathodic current for the Pt/SWNT‐CA/ITO electrode was 1.7 times higher than that for the Pt/ITO electrode at 0.0 V, showing that the Pt/SWNT‐CA/ITO electrode works more efficiently for O₂ reduction at 0.0 V due to the SWNT‐CA layer. The enhancement by the SWNT‐CA layer is also effective for electrocatalytic proton reduction. It could be ascribable to the enlarged interfacial area between the electrode surface and the electrolyte solution.     

液相电化学沉积法制备高氮含量CNx薄膜及性能的研究

采用液相电化学沉积法,以二氰二胺的丙酮溶液为沉积液,以镀有ITO(铟锡氧化膜)的导电玻璃为衬底制备了CNx薄膜.初步探讨了沉积温度和沉积电压对薄膜中氮含量的影响.通过XPS、FTIR光谱、SEM和US-Vis光谱对得到的CNx薄膜的化学结合状态、结构形貌和光学性质进行了表征,并用高电阻仪对薄膜的绝缘性进行了分析.XPS结果表明,CNx薄膜中碳氮主要以单键连接,sp3杂化的C—N键占85%.在IR光谱中,仅出现了C—N键和CN双键的吸收峰.SEM图谱显示CNx薄膜呈颗粒状,粒径平均为80nm左右.在水浴加热条件下沉积的CNx薄膜在200～300nm近紫外区为非线性吸收.薄膜的电阻率随氮含量的增加而增大,测量值在1012～1016Ω·cm之间.     

Stimuli-responsive binary mixed polymer brushes and free-standing films by LbL-SIP

We report a facile approach to preparing binary mixed polymer brushes and free-standing films by combining the layer-by-layer and surface-initiated polymerization (LbL-SIP) techniques. Specifically, the grafting of mixed polymer brushes of poly(n-isopropylacrylamide) and polystyrene (pNIPAM-pSt) onto LbL-macroinitiator-modified planar substrates is described. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and free radical polymerization (FRP) techniques were employed for the syntheses of pNIPAM and pSt, respectively, yielding pNIPAM-pSt mixed polymer brushes. The composition of the two polymers was controlled by varying the number of macroinitiator layers deposited on the substrate (i.e., LbL layers = 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20); consequently, mixed brushes of different thicknesses and composition ratios were obtained. Moreover, the switching behavior of the LbL-mixed brush films as a function of solvent and temperature was demonstrated and evaluated by water contact angle and atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments. It was found that both the solvent and temperature stimuli responses were a function of the mixed brush composition and thickness ratio where the dominant component played a larger role in the response behavior. Furthermore, the ability to obtain free-standing films was exploited. The LbL technique provided the macroinitiator density variation necessary for the preparation of stable free-standing mixed brush films. Specifically, the free-standing films exhibited the rigidity to withstand changes in the solvent and temperature environment and at the same time were flexible enough to respond accordingly to external stimuli.     

Gold nanoparticle-modified ITO electrode for electrogenerated chemiluminescence: well-preserved transparency and highly enhanced activity

Although it is desirable to use transparent indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrates as working electrodes for electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL), their applications in ECL studies of the Ru(bpy)32+ (bpy, 2,2'-bipyridine)/tri-n-propylamine (TPrA) system have been limited because of the large overpotential of TPrA oxidation and the instability of the ITO surface at high anodic potentials. Here, we describe a simple method to achieve high ECL activity using ITO electrodes modified with gold nanoparticles (GNPs). The GNPs have been capped with fluorosurfactant ligands (i.e., Zonyl FSO). Much more facile TPrA oxidation was achieved by using the modified electrode, and an intense low-oxidation-potential (LOP) ECL signal was observed at approximately 0.88 V versus SCE. The electrode transmittance drop upon modification was generally less than 5% over the visible spectrum when small-sized GNPs (approximately 4 nm) were employed. The well-preserved transparency and highly enhanced activity make the modified electrode promising for ECL studies.     

Surface composition and electrical and electrochemical properties of freshly deposited and acid-etched indium tin oxide electrodes

We compare the near-surface composition and electroactivity of commercial indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films, activated by plasma cleaning or etching with strong haloacids, with ITO films that have been freshly deposited in high vacuum, before and after exposure to the atmosphere or water vapor. Conductive-tip AFM, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the electrochemistry of probe molecules in solution were used to compare the relative degrees of electroactivity and the near-surface composition of these materials. Brief etching of commercial ITO samples with concentrated HCl or HI significantly enhances the electrical activity of these oxides as revealed by C-AFM. XPS was used to compare the composition of these activated surfaces, focusing on the intrinsically asymmetric O 1s line shape. Energy-loss processes associated with photoemission from the tin-doped, oxygen-deficient oxides complicate the interpretation of the O 1s spectra. O 1s spectra from the stoichiometric indium oxide lattice are accompanied by higher-binding-energy peaks associated with hydroxylated forms of the oxide (and in some cases carbonaceous impurities) and overlapping photoemission associated with energy-loss processes. Characterization of freshly sputter-deposited indium oxide (IO) and ITO films, transferred under high vacuum to the surface analysis environment, allowed us to differentiate the contributions of tin doping and oxygen-vacancy doping to the O 1s line shape, relative to higher-binding-energy O 1s components associated with hydroxyl species and carbonaceous impurities. Using these approaches, we determined that acid activation and O2 plasma etching create an ITO surface that is still covered with an average of one to two monolayers of hydroxide. Both of these activation treatments lead to significantly higher rates of electron transfer to solution probe molecules, such as dimethyferrocene in acetonitrile. Solution electron-transfer events appear to occur at no more than 4x10(7) electroactive sites per cm2 (each with diameters of ca. 50-200 nm) (i.e., a small fraction of the geometric area of the electrode). Electron-transfer rates correlate with the near-surface tin dopant concentration, suggesting that these electroactive sites arise from near-surface tin enrichment.     

Molecular transfer of surfactant bilayers: widening the range of substrates

Handling nanometer-thick films and nano-objects remains a challenge. Applying self-assembly properties of surfactants to nanomaterials manipulation may be the key to the fast, easy, cost-effective growth of 2D and 3D nanostructures. Newton black films (NBFs) are self-assembled bilayers of surfactant, well-organized, but fragile objects. To render such films amenable to practical applications, it is necessary to find ways to transfer them onto solid substrates. A method developed recently to transfer NBFs onto a solid substrate while preserving their molecular organization (Benattar, J.-J.; Nedyalkov, M.; Lee, F. K.; Tsui, O. K. C. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2006, 45, 4186) is broadened here to different surfaces. The method requires hydrophobic, planar, atomically smooth surfaces. This study presents the adhesion of a fluorinated NBF surfactant onto hydrophobically treated silica and silicon surfaces (with etching or silanization). The structures of the free-standing film, bare substrates, and transferred films are investigated using X-ray reflectivity. The homogeneity of the surfaces before and after bilayer deposition is examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Multiple transfers are tested and described for the future development of more complex architectures involving many surfactant layers and inserted nanosized objects.     

Dense passivating poly(ethylene glycol) films on indium tin oxide substrates

We describe the formation and characterization of surface-passivating poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) films on indium tin oxide (ITO) glass substrates. PEG chains with a molecular weight of 2000 and 5000 D were covalently attached to the substrates in a systematic approach using different coupling schemes. The coupling strategies included the direct grafting with PEG-silane, PEG-methacrylate, and PEG-bis(amine), as well as the two-step functionalization with aldehyde-bearing silane films and subsequent coupling with PEG-bis(amine). Elemental analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the successful surface modification, and XPS and ellipsometry provided values for film thicknesses. XPS and ellipsometry thickness values were almost identical for PEG-silane films but differed by up to 400% for the other PEG layers, suggesting a homogeneous layer for PEG-silane but an inhomogeneous distribution for other PEG coatings on the molecularly rough ITO substrates. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and water contact angle goniometry confirmed the different degrees of surface homogeneity of the polymer films, with PEG-silane reducing the AFM rms surface roughness by 50% and the water contact angle hysteresis by 75% compared to uncoated ITO. The ability of the PEG layers to passivate the substrate against the nonspecific adsorption of biopolymers was tested using fluorescence-labeled immunoglobulin G and DNA oligonucleotides in combination with fluorescence microscopy. The results indicate a positive relationship between film density and homogeneity on one hand and the ability to passivate against biopolymer adhesion on the other hand. The most homogeneous layers prepared with PEG-silane reduced the nonspecific adsorption of fluorescence-labeled DNA by a factor of 300 compared to uncoated ITO. In addition, the study finds that the ratio of film thicknesses derived by ellipsometry and XPS is a useful parameter to quantify the structural integrity of PEG layers on molecularly rough ITO surfaces. The findings may be applied to characterize PEG or other polymeric films on similarly coarse substrates.