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Navascués P, Schütz U, Hanselmann B, Hegemann D. Near-Plasma Chemical Surface Engineering. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 14:195. [PMID: 38251159 PMCID: PMC10819024 DOI: 10.3390/nano14020195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
As a new trend in plasma surface engineering, plasma conditions that allow more-defined chemical reactions at the surface are being increasingly investigated. This is achieved by avoiding high energy deposition via ion bombardment during direct plasma exposure (DPE) causing destruction, densification, and a broad variety of chemical reactions. In this work, a novel approach is introduced by placing a polymer mesh with large open area close to the plasma-sheath boundary above the plasma-treated sample, thus enabling near-plasma chemistry (NPC). The mesh size effectively extracts ions, while reactive neutrals, electrons, and photons still reach the sample surface. The beneficial impact of this on the plasma activation of poly (tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) to enhance wettability and on the plasma polymerization of siloxanes, combined with the etching of residual hydrocarbons to obtain highly porous SiOx coatings at low temperatures, is discussed. Characterization of the treated samples indicates a predominant chemical modification yielding enhanced film structures and durability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Navascués
- Laboratory for Advanced Fibers, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, 9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Dirk Hegemann
- Laboratory for Advanced Fibers, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, 9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland
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Castillo-Seoane J, Gil-Rostra J, López-Flores V, Lozano G, Javier Ferrer F, Espinós JP, Ostrikov K(K, Yubero F, González-Elipe AR, Barranco Á, Sánchez-Valencia JR, Borrás A. One-reactor vacuum and plasma synthesis of transparent conducting oxide nanotubes and nanotrees: from single wire conductivity to ultra-broadband perfect absorbers in the NIR. NANOSCALE 2021; 13:13882-13895. [PMID: 34477662 PMCID: PMC8374677 DOI: 10.1039/d1nr01937f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The eventual exploitation of one-dimensional nanomaterials needs the development of scalable, high yield, homogeneous and environmentally friendly methods capable of meeting the requirements for fabrication of functional nanomaterials with properties on demand. In this article, we demonstrate a vacuum and plasma one-reactor approach for the synthesis of fundamental common elements in solar energy and optoelectronics, i.e. the transparent conducting electrode but in the form of nanotube and nanotree architectures. Although the process is generic and can be used for a variety of TCOs and wide-bandgap semiconductors, we focus herein on indium doped tin oxide (ITO) as the most previously researched in previous applications. This protocol combines widely applied deposition techniques such as thermal evaporation for the formation of organic nanowires serving as 1D and 3D soft templates, deposition of polycrystalline layers by magnetron sputtering, and removal of the templates by simply annealing under mild vacuum conditions. The process variables are tuned to control the stoichiometry, morphology, and alignment of the ITO nanotubes and nanotrees. Four-probe characterization reveals the improved lateral connectivity of the ITO nanotrees and applied on individual nanotubes shows resistivities as low as 3.5 ± 0.9 × 10-4Ω cm, a value comparable to that of single-crystalline counterparts. The assessment of diffuse reflectance and transmittance in the UV-Vis range confirms the viability of the supported ITO nanotubes as random optical media working as strong scattering layers. Their further ability to form ITO nanotrees opens a path for practical applications as ultra-broadband absorbers in the NIR. The demonstrated low resistivity and optical properties of these ITO nanostructures open a way for their use in LEDs, IR shields, energy harvesting, nanosensors, and photoelectrochemical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Castillo-Seoane
- Nanotechnology on Surfaces and Plasma Group, Materials Science Institute of Seville (ICMS), (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – Universidad de Sevilla)C/Américo Vespucio 49Seville E-41092Spain
- Departamento de Física Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear (Universidad de Sevilla)Avda. Reina MercedesSeville E-41012Spain
| | - Jorge Gil-Rostra
- Nanotechnology on Surfaces and Plasma Group, Materials Science Institute of Seville (ICMS), (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – Universidad de Sevilla)C/Américo Vespucio 49Seville E-41092Spain
| | - Víctor López-Flores
- Nanotechnology on Surfaces and Plasma Group, Materials Science Institute of Seville (ICMS), (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – Universidad de Sevilla)C/Américo Vespucio 49Seville E-41092Spain
| | - Gabriel Lozano
- Multifunctional Optical Materials Group, Materials Science Institute of Seville (ICMS), (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – Universidad de Sevilla)C/Américo Vespucio 49Seville E-41092Spain
| | - F. Javier Ferrer
- Centro Nacional de Aceleradores (Universidad de Sevilla, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and Junta de Andalucía)Av. Thomas A. Edison 7Seville E-41092Spain
| | - Juan P. Espinós
- Nanotechnology on Surfaces and Plasma Group, Materials Science Institute of Seville (ICMS), (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – Universidad de Sevilla)C/Américo Vespucio 49Seville E-41092Spain
| | - Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov
- School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQLD 4000Australia
- CSIRO-QUT Joint Sustainable Processes and Devices LaboratoryLindfieldNSW 2070Australia
| | - Francisco Yubero
- Nanotechnology on Surfaces and Plasma Group, Materials Science Institute of Seville (ICMS), (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – Universidad de Sevilla)C/Américo Vespucio 49Seville E-41092Spain
| | - Agustín R. González-Elipe
- Nanotechnology on Surfaces and Plasma Group, Materials Science Institute of Seville (ICMS), (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – Universidad de Sevilla)C/Américo Vespucio 49Seville E-41092Spain
| | - Ángel Barranco
- Nanotechnology on Surfaces and Plasma Group, Materials Science Institute of Seville (ICMS), (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – Universidad de Sevilla)C/Américo Vespucio 49Seville E-41092Spain
| | - Juan R. Sánchez-Valencia
- Nanotechnology on Surfaces and Plasma Group, Materials Science Institute of Seville (ICMS), (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – Universidad de Sevilla)C/Américo Vespucio 49Seville E-41092Spain
- Departamento de Física Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear (Universidad de Sevilla)Avda. Reina MercedesSeville E-41012Spain
| | - Ana Borrás
- Nanotechnology on Surfaces and Plasma Group, Materials Science Institute of Seville (ICMS), (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – Universidad de Sevilla)C/Américo Vespucio 49Seville E-41092Spain
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