Instabilities during the formation of electroactive polymer thin films

The solvent-induced film structure of poly(n-vinyl carbazole) (PVK) thin films on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass was examined. PVK thin films were prepared via spin-coating using five different solvents. We investigated the relationship between the solvent characteristics and film properties, i...

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Veröffentlicht in:Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids. - 1992. - 21(2005), 7 vom: 29. März, Seite 2881-6
1. Verfasser: Luo, Shyh-Chyang (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Craciun, Valentin, Douglas, Elliot P
Format: Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2005
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids
Schlagworte:Journal Article
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:The solvent-induced film structure of poly(n-vinyl carbazole) (PVK) thin films on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass was examined. PVK thin films were prepared via spin-coating using five different solvents. We investigated the relationship between the solvent characteristics and film properties, including surface roughness and structure, film thickness, and density. The spin-coated polymer thin films are not in thermodynamic equilibrium; rather, the film properties are affected by the dynamics of the spin-coating process. We found that water present in tetrahydrofuran (THF) induces dewetting of PVK films during the spin-coating process. Solvents with a high evaporation rate lead to high surface roughness due to Marangoni convection. The results show that the surface roughness and structure of the films are dominated by the dynamics of the film formation process, rather than thermodynamic interactions between the polymer and solvents
Beschreibung:Date Completed 14.06.2006
Date Revised 22.03.2005
published: Print
Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE
ISSN:1520-5827