Organic/inorganic hybrid nano-micro structured coatings on insulated substrates by electrospray deposition

Organic/inorganic hybrid nano-microstructured coatings on insulated polymer films were prepared by electrospray deposition (ESD) from an acrylic resin/silica sol blend solution. The surface morphologies of the coated films were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM images showed that a nano-microscaled fibrous structure was formed on the film. The fiber diameter decreased from 4.4 mu m to 600 nm with the increase in the silica sol content. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis also revealed that silica atoms were homogeneously distributed in the fibrous structure on the polymer film. These results indicated that the ESD method is potentially a useful option for producing nano-microstructured coatings on not only conductive, but also insulating surfaces. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.