Nanocomposite of ZrO2/Polymer Thin-Film Coatings by the Ionically Self-Assembled Monolayer Technique

Nanocomposites of multilayer structures of zirconia/polymer thin-film coatings have been fabricated on quartz and single-crystal silicon substrates by the Ionically Self-Assembled Monolayer (ISAM) technique. Particle size distribution was measured to calculate the grain diameter of the zirconia particles. UV/Vis spectroscopy and ellipsometry were used to characterize the ISAM technique. SEM and AFM were used to observe the microscopic structure of the multilayer structures. Some mechanical properties were characterized by adhesion, abrasion, and nano-hardness tests. It was shown that an important distinction of this novel technique over conventional coating processes is the fabrication of excellent molecular-level uniform films with precise control of film thickness at the à ngström-level at ambient temperature and pressure conditions. It was also shown the maximum Vickers microhardness of ZrO2/polymer nanocomposite thin-film coatings prepared by this method was greater than 25 GPa.