| AVS 65th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Thin Films Division | Tuesday Sessions |
| Session TF+SS-TuA |
| Session: | Organic/Inorganic Materials and Interfaces |
| Presenter: | AnnaMaria Coclite, Graz University of Technology, Austria |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Functional thin films offer innovative solutions for many technological applications: organic electronics, smart devices for biotechnology, microfluidics, membrane technology, sensors and drug delivery systems. The development of functional thin films, engineered to achieve all the desired properties, requires advanced growth techniques. The development of dry growth methods - based on vacuum- aims to complement and enlarge the applicability of functional thin films to fields where the presence of solvent is detrimental.
Successful results in terms of rationally designed micro- and nanoengineered materials will be demonstrated using as a case of study the growth of functional polymers by initiated CVD (iCVD). The high versatility of iCVD in driving application-specific properties into the material, creating a platform for the implementation of polymeric coatings into device fabrication will be discussed.
Layered nanostructures in proton conductive iCVD polymers were investigated though X-ray based methods. The polymers crystallize in a bilayer structure, perpendicular to the substrate surface, formed by perfluorinated pendant chains. Acid moieties were introduced to form ionic channels among the bilayers –parallel to the substrate surface- which can be responsible for proton conduction. This one-step polymerization process has the potential to manufacture inexpensive, high quality membranes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.
Another case of study will be presented in the field of multi-stimuli-responsive materials. In particular, the material of interest in this case is a hydrogel that changes its size and shape when stimulated by light and humidity. Hydrogels are known for their dynamic swelling response to aqueous environments. A chemical functionalization of the hydrogel surface was performed to add other stimuli-responsive functionalities and obtain a smart material that responds to two stimuli. Modifying the hydrogel surface with solution-based methods is often problematic because of the damages caused by the permeation of solvents in the hydrogel. This issue is completely bypassed by the use of solvent-free techniques, like iCVD.