Abstract
Nanostructured thin films of silicon and titanium disilicide are produced using a nanoscale or colloidal grinding technique based on planetary ball milling in solution. High-purity micron-scale powders are dispersed in solvent and milled at 200–1000 rpm for 10 min to several hours. The resulting films are cast from solution on planar and curved surfaces with individual particle sizes reaching below 100 nm after approximately 45 min of grinding at 400 rpm. X-ray analysis and Raman spectroscopy shows that the crystalline structure of the starting materials is maintained following grinding, with carbon and oxygen species appearing, as grinding time is increased likely the result of surface reactions occurring during the milling process. Surface wettability measurements show the contact angle of nanostructured Si, and TiSi2 films can be tuned from approximately 10 to over 100 degrees resulting in hydrophobic or hydrophilic surfaces depending upon grinding time, speed and solvent. Two-terminal electronic transport data of the thin films show that electrical resistivity can be tuned by more than one order of magnitude depending on grinding conditions. In general, coatings created via nanogrinding possess unique and varied structural, surface, electrical and optical properties, which can be used for advanced multi-functional materials and devices.
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Acknowledgements
We thank X. Gong and Z. Albu for assistance with sample preparation, L. Coogan of the UVic School of Earth and Ocean Sciences for use of the Retsch PBM apparatus, the UBC Bioimaging Facility for SEM/EDX use, and Western Economic Diversification Canada for Raman spectroscopy. This work was funded in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. J. Zou was supported by the MITACS Globalink program.
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Sapkota, R., Zou, J., Dawka, S. et al. Multi-functional thin film coatings formed via nanogrinding. Appl Nanosci 8, 1437–1444 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-018-0812-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-018-0812-y