MSE PhD Defense - Philip Brooke

Date: Friday, October 23rd

Time: 2pm - 4pm

Location: EBB Building, Room 4029

Committee: 

Dr. Kenneth H. Sandhage, Advisor, MSE

Dr. Melin Liu, MSE

Dr. Nazanin Bassiri-Gharb, MSE    

Dr. Carson Meredith, Chem & Biomolecular Eng.

Dr. Joseph Perry, Chemistry

Title:  MODIFICATION AND REPLICATION OF INTRICATE 3D STRUCTURES WITH THIN FILMS COMPRISED OF COMPLEX OXIDES

Abstract:

The use of surface sol-gel (SSG) was researched for depositing functional complex oxide thin films onto intricate 3D structures. Automated robotic systems were designed and constructed to deposit SSG coatings onto to a variety of structures as well as for use with a Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM). Second freestanding photoluminescent lanthanide-doped oxide replicas of P. sesostris butterfly wing scales were created via layer-by-layer (LbL) SSG deposition and subsequent morphology-preserving thermal treatments to create structures with tailorable optical response. Third, freestanding ferroelectric replicas of sunflower pollen were produced via LbL SSG deposition and controlled atmosphere thermal treatments for tailorable electrostatic adhesion. Fourth, the SSG deposition of Ti(IV) isopropoxide and Ba(II) isopropoxide were investigated using QCM. Isotherm adsorption models were fitted to the precursor adsorption data. This work will help guide future research on SSG thin film coatings and replication of intricate structures. Finally, a synthetic inverse opal structure was coated with the SSG method to demonstrate the use of SSG coatings on inorganic templates and the effect of high-index coatings on inverse opals.