Project name: DEPOSITION OF LAYERED DOUBLE HYDROXIDES THIN FILMS WITH FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES
Contract no. 98/30.07.2010
Project code: TE_146
Program: Human Resources
Project type: Research projects for the stimulation of the forming of young independent research teams
Project director: Andreea Matei
Coordinator: National Institute for Lasers, Plasma, and Radiation Physics
Financing Authority: Executive Unit for Financing Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation (UEFISCDI)
Project summary:
A VAST NUMBER OF CLASSICAL MATERIALS AND DEVICES TEND TO REACH PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS CONCERNING THEIR PERFORMANCES. COMPLEX MATERIALS, WITH DIFFERENT AND COMPLEMENTARY FUNCTIONS CAN BE USED IN COMPACT AND MULTIFUNCTIONAL DEVICES, WITH CONTROLLED PROPERTIES DEPENDING ON THE DESIRED APPLICATION. THE CURRENT PROJECT CONCERNS THE INVESTIGATION OF MATERIALS DERIVED FROM HYDROTALCITE-LIKE COMPOUNDS (LAYERED DOUBLE HYDROXIDES - LDH) AND THEIR PROCESSING AS THIN FILMS.
LDHS ARE A CLASS OF LAMELLAR MATERIALS, WITH POSITIVELY CHARGED LAYERS AND ANIONS TRAPPED BETWEEN THESE LAYERS. POWDERED LDH HAS BEEN WIDELY STUDIED DUE TO THEIR APPLICATIONS AS CATALYSTS, ANIONIC EXCHANGERS OR HOST MATERIALS: ADSORBENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS AND FOR THE IMMOBILIZATION OF BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS.
DIFFERENT METHODS TO GROW WELL-ORIENTED LDH THIN FILMS HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED TO BE USED AS SENSORS, CORROSION-RESISTANT COATINGS, COMPONENTS OF OPTICAL AND MAGNETIC DEVICES.
THEREFORE, THE CURRENT PROJECT IS ALIGNED TO THE PRESENT RESEARCH PRIORITIES BY PROPOSING THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES, MORE SPECIFICALLY PULSED LASER DEPOSITION ASSISTED OR NOT BY RF PLASMA AND MATRIX ASSISTED PULSED LASER EVAPORATION, IN ORDER TO OBTAIN CRYSTALLINE LDH COMPOUNDS AND THEIR DERIVED MIXES OXIDES WITH CONTROLLED PROPERTIES, DEPENDING ON THE DESIRED APPLICATION.
THE PROJECT PRESENTS 3 CASE STUDIES: DEPOSITION OF THIN COMPOSITE LDH FILMS WITH: 1. METALLIC PARTICLES (AG/NI) FOR CATALYSIS EXPERIENTS, 2. DRUG (AMPICILIN), 3. POLYMER (POLYETHILEN GLYCOL), FOR POSSIBLE APLICATIONS IN FARMACY ETC.
General objectives: The main goal of the project is to obtain crystalline double layered hydroxides as thin films, using deposition techniques with lasers and plasma, for applications in chemical sensors, corrosion-resistant coatings, substrates for the immobilization of biological materials etc. The project will investigate the obtaining of composite thin films stating from targets prepared from LDH structures functioning as “host” material. Three types of composite materials will be considered:
1. LDH with metallic particles (Ag or Ni) with advanced dispersion
2. LDH with a medicine (ampicilin)
3. LDH with a polymer (PEG)
After the structure and surface morphology characterization of the films, the appropriate method (pulsed laser deposition assisted or not by RF plasma, or matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation) and the best experimental parameters will be selected.
First stage - 10.12.2010 (click for the scientific report)
Objectives:
1. The deposition techniques investigation for the HT- like films and HT-metallic particles/polymer/antibiotic
2. PLD and RF-PLD of HT-like materials; thin films characterization.
Value of first stage: 143.725 lei
Second stage - 10.12.2011 (click for the scientific report)
Objectives:
1. Characterization of composite films containing metal particles grown by PLD and plasma beam assisted PLD.
2. Characterization of hydrotalcite-PEG composite films grown by PLD and plasma beam assisted PLD.
Third stage - 5.12.2012 (click for the scientific report)
Objectives:
1. Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE) of hydrotalcite films and their characterization.
2. Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE) of hydrotalcite composite films with embedded metalic particles and their characterization.
3. Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE) of hydrotalcite composite films with PEG and their characterization.
Value of third stage: 94.417 lei
Fourth stage - 27.07.2013
Objectives:
1. PLD and RF-PLD of composite HT-like materials with antibiotic (ampicilin); thin films characterization
2. MAPLE of composite HT-like materials with antibiotic (ampicilin); thin films characterization
3. Focus on the best method/ deposition parameters to obtain chrystaline LDH filmsand composite LDH-metal, LDH-PEG and LDH-Ampicilin