Study on the Film-Forming Mechanism of Polymer–Metal Oxide Composite Ink Systems Containing Different Polymer Molecules

Abstract

A printable, flexible display panel is an important trend in the field of information display, which requires better mechanical and electrical properties of device materials. Polymer− metal oxide composite materials are promising in the functional layer of a thin-film transistor (TFT) and can be sufficiently fabricated by polymer−metal salt solution systems through the sol−gel process. For the development of polymer−metal oxide composite ink, it is necessary to study the film-forming mechanism of the composite film during solidification, which is an important reference in ink component design. However, the evolution of the composite structure is quite complex, which brings a challenge to characterization and analyzation. We applied a series of characterization methods to study the film-forming process of composite ink from sol to gel and to solid, and an emerging testing technology, nano-infrared spectroscopy (nano-IR), was applied to characterize the gel film. The research conclusion showed that the type of functional group can significantly affect the morphology of the initial particle and can finally determine the microstructure of the composite film. The study provides references for the development of composite ink as well as the characterization method for ink and film with complex composition.