NUCLEATION AND GROWTH OF ORIENTED CERAMIC FILMS ONTO ORGANIC INTERFACES

New materials synthetic methods are being investigated involving heter ogeneous nucleation and growth of ceramic films from aqueous solutions onto surfaces modified with organic functional groups. Dense, nanocry stalline, iron hydroxide films were deposited onto sulfonated polystyr ene and sulfonated self-assembling monolayers on oxidized silicon. (02 0) oriented goethite films were formed resulting in chains of edge-sha red octahedra in the [001] direction lying parallel to the surface. De position amounts varied with pH primarily due to changes in solution s upersaturation. The best films were formed when deposition occurred he terogeneously at supersaturations just below the critical supersaturat ion. Induction times decreased with increasing sulfonate site density due to a reduction in interfacial energy. Nucleation was initiated by binding of cationic species to sulfonate sites and hydrolysis and cond ensation reactions resulted in the growth and coalescence of crystalli tes.