Ion Beam Sputtering Deposition and Characterization of ZnO-Fluoropolymer Nano-Antimicrobials

New Insights in the Ion Beam Sputtering Deposition of ZnO-Fluoropolymer Nanocomposites

“…A certain divergence with the results obtained for analogous Pd-CF x and Cu-CF x materials was noticed; in these previous studies, the surface atomic percentages of inorganic components increased systematically as a function of the metal loading [14,46]. On the other hand, the fluorine percentage followed an opposite trend, decreasing noticeably at higher inorganic loadings [13,14,45,46]. Polymer reticulation and defluorination were considered responsible for this experimental evidence.…”

“…Despite the presence of inorganic fluorides, these materials are very useful in many other applications, ranging from catalytic de-polymerization processes [51] to the modification of paddings and mattresses not in direct contact with human skin. The aim of this paragraph is just to add a useful piece of information for those readers interested in the textile manufacturing application of composite materials, thus providing complimentary information to what we reported in [45]. As shown, samples with higher loadings had a significant atomic percentage of inorganic fluoride that was about 26% of the total fluorine.…”

“…Optimized IBS deposition parameters for composite ZnO-CF x thin films, at different inorganic volume fractions, have already been reported elsewhere [45]. We previously demonstrated that, with this technique, an organic-inorganic thin film with an easily tunable thickness and φ could be prepared.…”

“…A "customized" dual-ion-beam system with ion-beam-assisted growth, already described elsewhere [3,45], was used to deposit the zinc oxide-fluoropolymer (ZnO-CF x ) nanocomposites. In order to improve the ZnO's stoichiometry, the deposition of all of the nanocomposites was assisted with a low energy ion beam fluxing O 2 at 3 sccm (standard cubic centimeters per minute) in the assistance gun.…”

“…The film's thickness was 150 nm unless otherwise stated. Nanocomposites were prepared at three different ZnO volume fractions (φ = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15) [45]. Details about φ calculations are reported in Equation (S1).…”