Kaolinite Thin Films Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition and Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation
Luminita Nicoleta Dumitrescu,
Eusebiu-Rosini Ionita,
Ruxandra Birjega,
Andrada Lazea-Stoyanova,
Maria-Daniela Ionita,
George Epurescu,
Ana-Maria Banici,
Simona Brajnicov,
Florin Andrei,
Andreea Matei
Affiliations
Luminita Nicoleta Dumitrescu
Lasers Department, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Eusebiu-Rosini Ionita
Sources for Plasma and Applications Group, Low Temperature Plasma Laboratory, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Ruxandra Birjega
Lasers Department, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Andrada Lazea-Stoyanova
Sources for Plasma and Applications Group, Low Temperature Plasma Laboratory, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Maria-Daniela Ionita
Sources for Plasma and Applications Group, Low Temperature Plasma Laboratory, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
George Epurescu
Lasers Department, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Ana-Maria Banici
Lasers Department, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Simona Brajnicov
Lasers Department, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Florin Andrei
Innovation Center in Photonics and Plasma for Advanced Materials and Technologies FOTOPLASMAT, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Andreea Matei
Lasers Department, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
In this work, thin films of lamellar clays were deposited by laser techniques (matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD)). The focus of this paper is the optimization of deposition parameters for the production of highly oriented crystalline films. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Contact angle measurements were employed to identify the wetting properties of the deposited thin films. Hydrophobic to superhydrophilic films can be prepared by using different deposition techniques and deposition parameters. MAPLE led to superhydrophilic films with contact angles in the range 4°–8°, depending on the microstructure and surface roughness at micro and nano scale. The 1064 nm PLD had a high deposition rate and produced a textured film while at λ = 193 nm an extremely thin and amorphous layer was depicted. Oriented kaolinite films were obtained by MAPLE even at 5 wt.% kaolinite in the target.