An understanding of film stability is useful in crafting predictable film morphologies, which have a wide range of applications extending from self-assembled nanostructures to coatings for engineered materials. The stability of a thin film on a solid support is affected by the nature of the thin film and the underlying substrate as well as their interactions. Thin films are commonly prepared by depositing organic solutions of nonpolar materials onto silicon wafer (SiO2); aqueous solutions are rarely used due to the destabilizing polar interactions during solvent evaporation leading to dewetting. In this study, hydrophilic and semi-crystalline poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) thin films from aqueous solution were fabricated on SiO2 via spin casting. Experimental parameters including PVOH concentration, PVOH degree of hydrolysis, spin rate, and thermal annealing were probed. The PVOH thin films appeared to be continuous under all the conditions examined, demonstrating the stable nature of the PVOH-SiO2 system. The extensive hydrogen bonding between the films and the substrate as well as the crystallization within the thin films appear to play more dominant roles than the destabilizing polar interactions during solvent evaporation in dictating thin film stability.

Preparation of stable poly(vinyl alcohol) thin films from aqueous solution on silicon wafer

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.