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Sol–gel-based single and multilayer nanoparticle thin films on low-temperature substrate poly-methyl methacrylate for optical applications

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Abstract

Single and multilayer (SiO2, TiO2, SiO2–TiO2, TiO2/SiO2–TiO2/SiO2) films were deposited on polymer substrate poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) at room temperature by sol–gel method. Optical micrographs show that spin-coated nanoparticle thin films have homogeneous surface with good adhesion with PMMA substrate. Scanning electron microscope results show good incorporation of silica and titania particles as composites with small grain size within range of 0.2–1.28 µm. The structural characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction, which shows an amorphous pattern for SiO2, SiO2–TiO2 and TiO2/SiO2–TiO2/SiO2 samples but shows semicrystalline behavior in TiO2 sample. From UV–visible spectroscopy, it is found that coated films have a good optical transparency with tunable refractive index of 1.39–2.14. So, these films can be useful for various potential optical applications.

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Acknowledgments

Shumaila Islam acknowledges the financial support provided by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, through RMC under the Postdoctoral Fellowship for the performance and management of the project. Corresponding author is grateful to the Malaysian Ministry of Education through the FRGS fund with vote 4F543.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laser Centre, Ibnu Sina Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia

    Shumaila Islam, Noriah Bidin & Zuhaib Haider

  2. Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

    Saira Riaz & Shahzad Naseem

  3. Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Johor Bharu, Malaysia

    M. A. Saeed

  4. Chemistry Department Malaysia (Johor Branch), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Johor Bahru, Malaysia

    Faridah Mohd Marsin

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  1. Shumaila Islam
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  2. Noriah Bidin
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Correspondence to Noriah Bidin.

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Islam, S., Bidin, N., Haider, Z. et al. Sol–gel-based single and multilayer nanoparticle thin films on low-temperature substrate poly-methyl methacrylate for optical applications. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 77, 396–403 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-015-3866-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-015-3866-2

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