Low-Temperature and UV Irradiation Effect on Transformation of Zirconia -MPS nBBs-Based Gels into Hybrid Transparent Dielectric Thin Films
Viorica Muşat,
Elena Emanuela Herbei,
Elena Maria Anghel,
Michael P. M. Jank,
Susanne Oertel,
Daniel Timpu,
Laurenţiu Frangu
Affiliations
Viorica Muşat
Centre of Nanostructures and Functional Materials, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Materials and Environmental Engineering, University “Dunărea de Jos” of Galaţi, Domneasca 111, 800201 Galaţi, Romania
Elena Emanuela Herbei
Centre of Nanostructures and Functional Materials, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Materials and Environmental Engineering, University “Dunărea de Jos” of Galaţi, Domneasca 111, 800201 Galaţi, Romania
Elena Maria Anghel
Institute of Physical Chemistry, “Ilie Murgulescu” of Romanian Academy, Spl. Independenţei 202, 060021 Bucharest, Romania
Michael P. M. Jank
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB, Schottkystraße 10, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Susanne Oertel
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB, Schottkystraße 10, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Daniel Timpu
Photochemistry and Polyaddition Department, “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, 700487 Iaşi, Romania
Laurenţiu Frangu
Faculty of Automation, Computers, Electrical Engineering and Electronics, “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, Ştiinţei 2, 800210 Galaţi, Romania
Bottom-up approaches in solutions enable the low-temperature preparation of hybrid thin films suitable for printable transparent and flexible electronic devices. We report the obtainment of new transparent PMMA/ZrO2 nanostructured -building blocks (nBBs) hybrid thin films (61–75 nm) by a modified sol-gel method using zirconium ethoxide, Zr(OEt)4, and 3-methacryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane (MPS) as a coupling agent and methylmethacrylate monomer (MMA). The effect of low-temperature and UV irradiation on the nBBs gel films is discussed. The thermal behaviors of the hybrid sols and as-deposed gel films were investigated by modulated thermogravimetric (mTG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The chemical structure of the resulted films was elucidated by X-ray photoelectron (XPS), infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopies. Their morphology and crystalline structure were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. The cured films show zirconia nanocrystallites of 2–4 nm in the hybrid matrix and different self-assembled structures for 160 °C or UV treatment; excellent dielectric behavior, with dielectric constant values within 6.7–17.9, depending on the Zr(OEt)4:MMA molar ratio, were obtained.
