Synthesis of metal/poly(diphenylsilylenemethylene) nanocomposite thin films by pulsed laser ablation

Abstract

A new technique to synthesize poly(diphenylsilylenemethylene) (PDPhSM) matrix nanocomposite thin films containing metal nanoparticles such as Ni, Al, Zn, and W produced by pulsed laser ablation has been developed. First, 1,1,3,3-tetraphenyl-1,3-disilacyclobutane (TPDC) films were deposited on 4 cm2 silicon substrates cut from c-Si wafers by conventional vacuum evaporation under a pressure of 4.0×10−3 Pa; then metal nanoparticles were deposited onto the TPDC films by pulsed laser ablation; finally the TPDC films with metal nanoparticles were heated in an electric furnace in an air atmosphere at 553 K for 10 min to induce ring-opening polymerization of TPDC. The results indicate that it is easy to synthesize metal/PDPhSM nanocomposite thin films by pulsed laser ablation. The morphologies and size of metal nanoparticles are closely related to the kinds of metal. Also, the polymerization efficiency depends on the kinds of metal nanoparticles deposited on the TPDC monomer films by pulsed laser ablation. In addition, The laser ablated metal nanoparticles penetrate into the TPDC monomer films during pulsed laser ablation while the DC sputtered metal nanoparticles just lay on the surface of TPDC films.