Morphology, Mechanical Stability, and Protective Properties of Ultrathin Gallium Oxide Coatings

Ultrathin gallium oxide. layers with a thickness of 2.8 +/- 0.2 nm were transferred from the surface of liquid gallium onto: solid substrates, including, conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). The gallium oxide exhibits high mechanical stability, Withstanding normal pressures of up to 1 GPa in contact mode scanning force microscopy imaging. Moreover, it lowers the rate of photodegradation of P3HT by 4 orders of magnitude, as compared to uncovered P3HT. This allows us to estimate the upper limits for oxygen and water vapor transmission rates of 0.08 cm(3) m(-2) day(-1) and 0.06 mg m(-2) day(-1) respectively. Hence, similar to other highly functional coatings such as, graphene, ultrathin gallium oxide layers can be regarded as promising candidates for protective layers in flexible organic (opto-)electronics and photovoltaics because they offer permeation barrier functionalities in conjunction with high optical transparency.