Room temperature fabrication of SiO2/polyacrylic ester multilayer composites by spin-coating

Alternate spin-coating was done to fabricate an organic/inorganic multiplayer composite at room temperature. SiO2/polyacrylic ester multilayer composites were obtained by coating an aqueous alkoxysilane-modified polyacrylic ester emulsion and an alkoxysilane liquid alternately on a substrate. We examined the layer thickness when the concentration of aqueous emulsion and disk rotating speed in spin-coating were changed, and found that the thickness decreased when the concentration was decreased and when the rotating speed was increased. Layers with a submicron thickness were obtained in optimum conditions for both polyacrylic ester and SiO2 layers. A multilayer composite with 31 layers in total was successfully fabricated without interface delamination or discontinuity of any layer; it showed good light transmittance through the visible light range. The potential of alternate spin-coating as a room temperature process for fabricating organic/inorganic multilayer composites was proven.