Sol-gel-derived silica films with tailored microstructures for applications requiring organic dyes
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
A three-step sol-gel process was developed to prepare organic dye-doped thin films with tailored porosity for applications in chemical sensing and optoelectronics. Varying the acid- and base-catalyzed hydrolysis steps of sols prepared from tetraethoxysilane with identical final H{sub 2}O/Si ratios, dilution factors and pH resulted in considerably different distributions of the silicate polymers in the sol (determined by {sup 29}Si NMR) and considerably different structures for the polymer clusters (determined by SAXS). During film formation these kinetic effects cause differences in the packing and collapse of the silicate network, leading to thin films with different refractive indices and volume fraction porosities. Under conditions where small pore-plugging species were avoided, the porosities of as-deposited films could be varied by aging the sol prior to film deposition. This strategy, which relies on the growth and aggregation of fractal polymeric clusters, is compatible with the low temperature and near neutral pH requirements of organic dyes.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 10182389
- Report Number(s):
- SAND--93-4010C; CONF-940411--52; ON: DE94018886
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Sol-gel/rhodamine 6G composite films with tailored microstructures
Sol-gel films with tailored microstructures