Evaporation-induced self-assembly of organic-inorganic ordered nanocomposite thin films that mimic nacre

The present study attempts to incorporate acrylate-based polymers into ordered lamellar organic-inorganic nanocomposite thin films composed of alternating Poly(TPGDA)/ITO layers. The films were prepared by dip-coating from a homogeneous solution containing the soluble inorganic metal salts (InCl3 center dot 4H(2)O and SnCl2 center dot 2H(2)O), surfactant, cross-linkers, organic monomers, and initiators, thus leading to composite lamellar nanocomposite materials through evaporation-induced self-assembly method. The final polymer/ITO nanocomposite thin film was obtained by a separate free-radical polymerization step, initiated by UV exposure. Structures and composition of the films were characterized using FTIR, XRD, UV-Vis spectrophotometer and TEM. The results indicated that the films were composed of organic and inorganic layers with orderly interlaced arrangement. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.