Preparation of Scratch-Resistant Nano-Porous Silica Films Derived by Sol-Gel Process and Their Anti-reflective Properties

Structural strengthening of the nano porous silica films has been reported. The films were prepared with a base/acid two-step catalyzed TEOS-based sol-gel processing and dip-coating, and then baked in the mixed gas of ammonia and water vapor. The silica films were characterized with TEM, AFM, FTIR, spectrophotometer, ellipsometer, and abrasion test, respectively. The experimental results have shown that the films have a nanostructure with a low refractive index and can form an excellent scratch-resistant broadband anti-reflectance. The two-step catalysis noticeably strengthens the films, and the mixed gas treatment further improves mechanical strength of the silica network. Finally the strengthening mechanism has been discussed.

Annealing Temperature dependence of Photoluminescence from Silicon-rich silica Films

The silicon-rich silica films were prepared by a dual-ion-beam co-sputtering method from a composite Target in an argon atmosphere. The structure of the films studied by the aid of TEM and XRD is amorphous. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra were found to have a 4- luminescent band peak at 320 nm, 410 nm, 560 nm, and 630 nm, respectively, at room temperature. The intensity and the wavelength position of PL are dependent on annealing temperature (Ta), and the luminescent mechanism is analyzed.

Microstructure Control of Nanoporous Silica Thin Film Prepared by Sol-gel Process

Nanoporous silica films were prepared by sol-gel process with base, acid and base/acid two-step catalysis.Transmission electron microscope （TEM） and particle size analyzer were used to characterize the microstructure and the particle size distribution of the sols. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, atomic force microscopy （AFM） and spectroscopic ellipsometer were used to characterize the surface microstructure and the optical properties of the silica films. Stability of the sols during long-term storage was investigated. Moreover,the dispersion relation of the optical constants of the silica films, and the control of the microstructure and properties of the films by changing the catalysis conditions during sol-gel process were also discussed.

Helium Plasma Damage of Low-k Carbon Doped Silica Film:the Effect of Si Dangling Bonds on the Dielectric Constant

The low-k carbon doped silica film has been modified by radio frequency helium plasma at 5 Pa pressure and 80 W power with subsequent XPS, FTIR and optical emission spec- troscopy analysis. XPS data indicate that helium ions have broken Si-C bonds, leading to Si-C scission with C（1s） lost seriously. The Si（2p）, O（ls）, peak obviously shifted to higher binding en- ergies, indicating an increasingly oxidized Si（2p）. FTIR data also show that the silanol formation increased with longer exposure time up to a week. Contrarily, the CHa stretch, Si-C stretching bond and the ratio of the Si-O-Si cage and Si-O-Si network peak sharply decreased upon exposure to helium plasma. The OES result indicates that monovalent helium ions in plasma play a key role in damaging carbon doped silica film. So it can be concluded that the monovalent helium ions besides VUV photons can break the weak Si-C bonds to create Si dangling bonds and free methyl radicals, and the latter easily reacts with O_2 from the atmosphere to generate CO_2 and H_2O. The bonds change is due to the Si dangling bonds combining with H_2O, thereby, increasing the dielectric constant k value.

FABRICATION AND CHARACTERATION OF NANOPOROUS SILICA FILM

Colloidal silica sol is formed by a novel hydrolyzing procedure of tetraethyl orthosilicate(TEOS) catalyzing with NH 3 ·H 2 O in aqueous mediums. Glycerol, combining with the hydrolyzed intermediates of TEOS, controls growing of the silica particles; poly(vinyl vinyl alcohol makes the colloidal silica sol with polymeric structure and spinning, thermal strain makes the gel silica film changed into a nanoporous structure with diameter ranging 50-150 nm. Morphologies of the nanoporous silica film have been characterized; the porosities (%) is 32-64; the average dielectric constant at 1MHz region is 2.0 and 2.1; the thermal conductivity is less than 0.8. Chemical mechanism of the sol gel process is discussed.

A novel fabrication of meso-porous silica film by sol-gol of TEOS

A homogeneous crack-free nano- or meso-porous silica films on silicon was fabricated by colloidal silica sol derived by hydrolyzing tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) catalyzing with (C4H9)4N+OH- in water medium. The solution with ratio of H2O/TEOS15, R4N+ and glycerol as templates, combining with the hydrolyzed intermediate, controlled the silica aggregating; the templated silica film with heterostructure was developed into homogeneous nano-porous then meso-porous silica films after being annealed from 750 C to 850 C; the formation mechanism of the porous silica films was discussed; morphologies of the silica films were characterized. The refractive indexes of the porous silica films were 1.2561.458, the thermal conductivity < 0.7 W/m/K. The fabricating procedure and the sequence had not been reported before.

Highly impermeable and flexible silica encapsulation films synthesized by sol-gel process

Silica thin films synthesized sol–gel process are proposed as flexible encapsulation materials.A sol–gel process provides a dense and stable amorphous silica structure,yielding an extremely high elastic deformation limit of 4.9%and extremely low water vapor transmission rate(WVTR)of 2.90×10^(−4)g/(m^(2)∙day)at 60℃and relative humidity of 85%.The WVTR is not degraded by cyclic bending deformations for the bending radius corresponding to a tensile strain of 3.3%in the silica encapsulation film,implying that the silica thin film is robust against the formation of pinhole-type defects by cyclic bending deformations.Flexible organic solar cells encapsulated with the silica films operate without degradation in power conversion efficiency for 50,000 bending cycles for a bending radius of 6 mm.

Deterioration Process of the Hybrid Films during Wear Test--Polyacrylate Emulsion Modified by Silica Particles

The hybrid materials are widely used in various fields for excellent performance. However, there are few researches studying their failure process. In order to prepare the hybrid materials with better performance, the failure process needs to be well studied. Two kinds of silica/polyacrylate films are successfully prepared to study the effect of organic-inorganic interaction on performance. The average diameter of silica particles is measured to be around 342 nm by scanning electron microscope（SEM）. Wear test demonstrates the hybrid film, which is obtained by grafting polyacrylate onto silica particles, possesses more excellent properties than the one filled directly with silica particles. The stronger interaction between organic and inorganic components leads to a better distribution of inorganic particles within the polymer matrix. In this work, a model is presented to illustrate the deterioration process of the hybrid films, which allows us to further understand the hybrid materials.

The Structure and Emission Properties of SiO_2 Nanometer Film Containing Ag

Colloidal silver particles are formed on float glass by heat treatment with coated silica film containing Ag by sol-gel process . The Sn2+ on surface of float glass influences the formation of colloidal Ag particles . The microstructure of the film and the granularity of silver particles were studied by TEM and HEED. The emission property of the samples was measured. The results show that aggregation of metal particles degrades emission intensity , and that content of Ag, withdrawing speed and heat treatment temperature of samples has a greater effect on photoluminescence.

Photoluminescence from Er^(3+) ion and SnO_2 nanocrystal co-doped silica thin films

Er3＋ ions embedded in silica thin films co-doped by SnO2 nanocrystals are fabricated by sol-gel and spin coating methods. Uniformly distributed 4-am SnO2 nanocrystals are fabricated, and the nanocrystals showed tetragonal rutile crystalline structures confirmed by transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffraction measurements. A strong characteristic emission located at 1.54 〉m from the Era＋ ions is iden- tified, and the influences of Sn doping concentrations on photoluminescence properties are systematically evaluated. The emission at 1.54 #m from Era＋ ions is enhanced by more than three orders of magnitude, which can be attributed to the effective energy transfer from the defect states of SnO2 nanocrystals to nearby Er3＋ ions, as revealed by the selective excitation experiments.

Growing vertical aligned mesoporous silica thin film on nanoporous substrate for enhanced degradation,drug delivery and bioactivity

Mesoporous silica thin film has been widely used in various fields,particularly the medical implant coating for drug delivery.However,some drawbacks remain with the films produced by traditional method(evaporation-induced self-assembly,EISA),such as the poor permeability caused by their horizontal aligned mesochannels.In this study,the vertical aligned mesoporous silica thin film(VMSTF)is uniformly grown alongside the walls of titania nanotubes array via a biphase stratification growth method,resulting in a hierarchical two-layered nanotubular structure.Due to the exposure of opened mesopores,VMSTF exhibits more appealing performances,including rapid degradation,efficient small-molecular drug(dexamethasone)loading and release,enhanced early adhesion and osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells.This is the first time successfully depositing VMSTF on nanoporous substrate and our findings suggest that the VMSTF may be a promising candidate for bone implant surface coating to obtain bioactive performances.

Solution-processable precursor route for fabricating ultrathin silica film for high performance and low voltage organic transistors

Silica is one of the most commonly used materials for dielectric layer in organic thin-film transistors due to its excellent stability, excellent electrical properties, mature preparation process, and good compatibility with organic semiconductors. However, most of conventional preparation methods for silica film are generally performed at high temperature and/or high vacuum. In this paper, we introduce a simple solution spin-coating method to fabricate silica thin film from precursor route, which possesses a low leakage current, high capacitance, and low surface roughness. The silica thin film can be produced in the condition of low temperature and atmospheric environment. To meet various demands, the thickness of film can be adjusted by means of preparation conditions such as the speed of spin-coating and the concentration of solution. The p-type and n-type organic field effect transistors fabricated by using this film as gate electrodes exhibit excellent electrical performance including low voltage and high performance. This method shows great potential for industrialization owing to its characteristic of low consumption and energy saving, time-saving and easy to operate.