EUROPEAN CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION ON ADVANCED MATERIALS AND PROCESSES - EUROMAT 2021

Gradients of organic materials can be found in many structures that occur in nature. Polymers thus represent an excellent choice to artificially reproduce these gradient structures in form of gradient copolymers. In this talk, we report on the preparation of such gradient copolymers synthesized as thin films using initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD). The iCVD process is known for solvent-free, large-area deposition of high quality polymer thin films on complex geometries as well as temperature sensisitive substrates. In order to transfer the gradient film approach to the lower nanoscale, a detailed understanding and control of the vapor phase kinetics in the iCVD process is required. This is realized via a new in-situ quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS) extension and supporting ab initio/density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It enables better understanding and control over the composition and processes in the vapor phase as well as insight into the underlying reaction kinetics that occur during the deposition. This paves the way for gradient copolymer films at the lower nanoscale below 30 nm that exhibit entirely new chemical and physical properties that cannot be achieved with current materials. These films provide new pathways for applications ranging from everyday uses to advanced optical devices and new electronic materials.