Transferability and Adhesion of Sol-Gel-Derived Crystalline TiO₂ Thin Films to Different Types of Plastic Substrates

Anatase thin films were prepared on various plastic substrates by our recently developed sol-gel transfer technique. Polycarbonate (PC), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), and polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) were employed as plastic substrates. A Si(100) substrate was first coated with a polyimide (PI)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) mixture layer, and an alkoxide-derived titania gel film was deposited on it by spin-coating. The resulting titania gel film was heated to 600 °C, during which the PI/PVP layer decomposed and the gel film was converted into a 60 nm thick anatase film. The anatase film was then transferred from the Si(100) substrate to the plastic substrate. This was achieved by heating the plastic/anatase/Si(100) stack in a near-infrared image furnace to 120-350 °C, depending on the type of plastic substrate, under unidirectional pressure. The anatase film cracked during transfer to PE, PP, PEEK, and PVDC substrates but did not crack during transfer to PC, PMMA, and PET substrates. The fraction of the total film area that was successfully transferred was assessed with the aid of image analysis. This fraction tended to be large for plastics with C═O and C-O groups and small for those without these groups. The film/substrate adhesion assessed by cross-cut tape tests also tended to be high for plastics with C═O and C-O groups and low for those without these groups. The adhesion to plastics without C═O or C-O groups could be enhanced and their transfer area fraction increased by oxidizing the native plastic surface by ultraviolet-ozone treatment prior to transfer.