Thin Solid FilmsPub Date : 2025-07-22DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140752
Taiping Teng , Yuxin Chen , Yang Peng , Weiguang Cheng , Weidong Zhang , Maobo Fang , Zhongyu Hou , Yanfang Wang
{"title":"Ultraviolet detector based on CdS/ZnO piezoelectric heterojunction","authors":"Taiping Teng , Yuxin Chen , Yang Peng , Weiguang Cheng , Weidong Zhang , Maobo Fang , Zhongyu Hou , Yanfang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140752","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140752","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper proposes an ultraviolet (UV) light detection device based on a CdS/ZnO piezoelectric heterojunction, which realizes intelligent environmental monitoring through a piezoelectric-optical response coupling mechanism. The CdS/ZnO core-shell nanowire arrays were fabricated on a stainless steel substrate via a combination of hydrothermal synthesis and Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) methods, forming a heterojunction with both piezoelectric and UV-sensitive properties. Material characterization revealed that the structure exhibits an extended absorption in the UV–visible region up to 506 nm and a bandgap of approximately 2.45 eV. Photoelectrical measurements demonstrated a significant enhancement in current density under 395 nm UV light irradiation. Piezoelectric output tests disclosed that the CdS/ZnO heterojunction possesses high sensitivity to UV light (<em>R</em> = 53.7 %). Signal acquisition and threshold discrimination were achieved using an STM32 development board, enabling the device to distinguish tress and UV irradiation. This study offers an approach for the development of integrated, low-power intelligent UV sensing systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"825 ","pages":"Article 140752"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144713556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Photocatalytic degradation of ofloxacin by various nanostructured TiO2 thin films produced via Ti–H2O2 interaction","authors":"Iram Hussain , Lisha Zhang , Zhizhen Ye , Jin-Ming Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140751","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140751","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this work, a low-temperature method for creating nanostructured TiO<sub>2</sub> thin films with controlled morphologies for the photocatalytic degradation of the persistent antibiotic pollutant ofloxacin in water is presented. A Ti–H₂O₂ interaction was used to produce hydrogen titanate nanowires, which were subsequently converted into three different nanostructures: anatase nanowires by calcined at 450 °C, porous nanorods and hierarchical nanoflowers by treating at 80 °C for 72 h with hot water and sulfuric acid, respectively. Controls over surface area, hydroxyl group contents, and crystal phase composition were made possible by these post-treatments. With a reaction rate constant of 0.72 h⁻¹ and a photocatalytic efficiency of 98 % ofloxacin degradation in 4 h under UV light, TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoflowers outperformed commercial benchmark P25 mixed phase TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticle films (0.64 h⁻¹) among the different nanostructures. The mixed anatase-rutile phase, high surface area of 49.1 m²/g, large pore volume of 0.15 mL/g, and numerous surface hydroxyl groups are responsible for the superior performance. These results show that morphology-engineered TiO<sub>2</sub> films can be used to treat water effectively through photocatalysis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"825 ","pages":"Article 140751"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144713555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thin Solid FilmsPub Date : 2025-07-19DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140749
Xiang Li , Tingting Yao , Yixiao Jiang , Ang Tao , Xuexi Yan , Zhiqing Yang , Hengqiang Ye , Chunlin Chen
{"title":"Microstructure and hardness of Cr2O3 films grown by pulsed laser deposition","authors":"Xiang Li , Tingting Yao , Yixiao Jiang , Ang Tao , Xuexi Yan , Zhiqing Yang , Hengqiang Ye , Chunlin Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140749","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140749","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The microstructure and hardness of Cr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> films deposited on SrTiO<sub>3</sub> (111), Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> (0001) and Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> (11<span><math><mover><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow><mo>‾</mo></mover></math></span>0) substrates by pulsed laser deposition have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and nanoindentation techniques. Microstructural characterizations revealed that the Cr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> films exhibited orientated growth but with different defects. The (0001) Cr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/SrTiO<sub>3</sub> film has a high density of nanotwins, whereas both types of Cr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> films contain numerous stacking faults. The nanoindentation tests showed that the (0001) Cr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/SrTiO<sub>3</sub> film had a hardness of 38.5 GPa, which is higher that of the (0001) Cr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> film (36.2 GPa), This indicates that the nanotwins enhance hardness more than the stacking faults. The (11<span><math><mover><mn>2</mn><mo>¯</mo></mover></math></span>0) Cr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> film exhibited the lowest hardness of 31.7 GPa, indicating that the growth orientation of the films also greatly influences hardness. The findings indicate that the hardness of Cr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> films can be regulated by the defects present in the films and their growth orientation, thereby providing scientific foundation and technical assistance for the advancement of high-performance Cr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> films.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"825 ","pages":"Article 140749"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144686767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thin Solid FilmsPub Date : 2025-07-17DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140748
Evgeniy Boltynjuk , Francesco Bignoli , Sree Harsha Nandam , Damien Faurie , Alexander Welle , Robert Kruk , Philippe Djemia , Horst Hahn , Yulia Ivanisenko , Matteo Ghidelli
{"title":"Nanocolumnar ZrCu thin film metallic glass with tailored mechanical and electrical properties","authors":"Evgeniy Boltynjuk , Francesco Bignoli , Sree Harsha Nandam , Damien Faurie , Alexander Welle , Robert Kruk , Philippe Djemia , Horst Hahn , Yulia Ivanisenko , Matteo Ghidelli","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140748","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140748","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Thin-film metallic glasses (TFMGs) are promising materials for flexible electronics due to their large deformability and metallic-like electrical conductivity. Here, we synthesize homogeneous and nanocolumnar ZrCu TFMGs with tailored column size ranging from 16 up to 60 nm, investigating the relationship among atomic structure, electrical and mechanical properties focusing on their potential applications in flexible electronics. Tracer diffusion experiments indicate an absence of macroscopic cracks and enhanced diffusion coefficient for nanocolumnar TFMGs, up to one order of magnitude higher than in homogeneous counterpart, due to the presence of intercolumnar interfaces. We show that electrical resistivity increases with decreasing column size (from 570.0 ± 11.6 down to 285.9 ± 12.6 µΩ × cm) due to the enhanced electron scattering events at intercolumnar interfaces. Tensile tests on polymeric substrates reveal that the crack onset strain increases from 0.8 ± 0.05 up to 1.6 ± 0.05 % for large diameter nanocolumns due to the lower density of intercolumnar interfaces and presence of strong Cu-Cu bonds. Overall, we show how nanoengineering design concepts can be applied to TFMGs to tune their mechanical and electrical performance by controlling the nanocolumnar growth, paving the way for their potential applications in flexible electronics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"825 ","pages":"Article 140748"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144686768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thin Solid FilmsPub Date : 2025-07-15DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140745
Zahra Saki , Nima Taghavinia
{"title":"Crystallization control of CH3NH3PbI3 film in inverted perovskite solar cells via atmospheric vapor-assisted deposition","authors":"Zahra Saki , Nima Taghavinia","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140745","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140745","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The performance of halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is highly dependent on the halide perovskite film quality, i.e. crystallinity, surface coverage, and morphology. Conventionally, the antisolvent treatment is used to form high-quality halide perovskite films, but it is not a scale-up-friendly method. Antisolvent-free methods usually have the challenge of proper crystallization, as well as pinhole or coverage issues. Here, we explore a vapor-assisted deposition to study how we can approach a high-quality and pinhole-free CH<sub>3</sub>NH<sub>3</sub>PbI<sub>3</sub> (MAPbI<sub>3</sub>) perovskite film formation process in inverted PSCs. Furthermore, the MAPbI<sub>3</sub> perovskite films are formed by exposing PbI<sub>2</sub> thin film to CH<sub>3</sub>NH<sub>3</sub>I (MAI) vapor in air. To reach a crystalline and uniform MAPbI<sub>3</sub> perovskite film, the effect of reaction temperature (130 – 170 °C) and reaction time (0.5 – 2.5 h) between PbI<sub>2</sub>-coated films and MAI vapor on the MAPbI<sub>3</sub> perovskite film formation and resultant device performance has been explored. The detailed surface morphological, optical, and structural characterizations explicitly reveal that the pinhole-free, fully crystalline, and high-quality MAPbI<sub>3</sub> perovskite film forms at the reaction temperature and reaction time of 150 °C and 2.0 h, respectively. In addition, the device employing MAPbI<sub>3</sub> perovskite films prepared at the optimal reaction temperature and reaction time attains a champion power conversion efficiency of 14.3 %. Besides, the long-term stability test demonstrates that the inverted PSCs keep 80 % of their initial performance after 20 days of storage under dark ambient conditions (∼ 25 °C; 25 – 40 % humidity).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"825 ","pages":"Article 140745"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144662093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thin Solid FilmsPub Date : 2025-07-15DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140744
Sara Alkhereibi , Muhammad Ainul Yaqin , Alexander Eberst , Binbin Xu , Janghyun Jo , Husain Alsamamra , Andreas Lambertz , Uwe Rau , Kaining Ding , Joachim Mayer
{"title":"Resolving the microstructure of aluminum-doped zinc oxide thin films grown on different silicon heterojunction solar cell structures by advanced transmission electron microscopy","authors":"Sara Alkhereibi , Muhammad Ainul Yaqin , Alexander Eberst , Binbin Xu , Janghyun Jo , Husain Alsamamra , Andreas Lambertz , Uwe Rau , Kaining Ding , Joachim Mayer","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140744","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140744","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Advanced microscopy techniques have been employed to resolve the microstructure of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) contacts in silicon heterojunction solar cells. Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) stands out as a TCO material because of its low cost, abundance, and good optoelectrical properties. The polycrystalline AZO thin films have yielded promising results in solar cell design. However, understanding the nanostructure of AZO thin-film materials is vital for enhancing the cell performance by focusing on the formation of large grains and their influence on the charge-carrier mobility of the film. Therefore, we employed high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and precession-assisted four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) with an automated crystal orientation analysis. These techniques can be used to determine the grain sizes of AZO films sputtered on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) layers. Columnar grains in the AZO/a-Si:H film are evident in the grain mapping with diameters greater than 10 nm, whereas in the AZO/nc-Si:H film, the grains begin at diameters less than 10 nm, showing smaller grains near the substrate than at the top of the film. Additionally, the double-layer with indium-thin doped oxide (ITO)/AZO stack started with grain diameters varying from 5 to 90 nm. They exhibit significantly larger and irregular boundaries. Therefore, microstructural characterization showed that larger columnar grains might lead to higher mobility in the AZO layer. This finding indicates that the impact of the ITO seed layer on AZO significantly enhances grain size, improves charge carrier mobility, and overall improves the power conversion efficiency (<em>ƞ</em>) to be 23.6% comparable to those of AZO on a-Si:H and nc-Si:H.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"825 ","pages":"Article 140744"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144656539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Influence of non-stoichiometry on the structural and electronic metal-insulator transition in 18O isotope-doped vanadium oxide films","authors":"Oksana Romanova , Sergey Aplesnin , Yulia Pyastolova , Natalya Cheremnykh , Maxim Sitnikov , Petr Shvets , Ksenia Maksimova , Alexander Goikhman , Lubov Udod","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140746","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140746","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The synthesis of vanadium oxide compounds, V<sub>2</sub><sup>18</sup>O<sub>3-x</sub>, with oxygen non-stoichiometry and heavy oxygen isotope doping (<sup>18</sup>O), was achieved via the cathode arc sputtering method. The microstructural characteristics and stoichiometric properties of the resulting nanocrystalline films were examined using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and Rutherford backscatter spectrometry. The concentration of defects leading to the suppression of the structural and electronic metal-insulator transition was evaluated through Raman spectroscopy and the analysis of electrophysical properties. A semi-empirical simulation of the lattice dynamics of vanadium oxide was also performed. Notable temperature anomalies in resistance, impedance, and relaxation time were observed. A model involving the deformation of octahedra and the splitting of oxygen vacancies multiplets was proposed to explain the formation of impurity subbands. Furthermore, a change in the sign of magnetoresistance and magnetoimpedance at specific temperatures, along with the effect of photoconductivity, was discovered.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"825 ","pages":"Article 140746"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144656540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thin Solid FilmsPub Date : 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140737
R.F.M. Martens, T. Bertens, O. van der Sluis, M.G.D. Geers, J.P.M. Hoefnagels
{"title":"An improved bulge test methodology to characterize non-buckled and buckled thin films","authors":"R.F.M. Martens, T. Bertens, O. van der Sluis, M.G.D. Geers, J.P.M. Hoefnagels","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140737","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140737","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The bulge test is a well-known and powerful method to characterize the mechanical behavior of thin films by etching the film into a free-standing membrane and loading it with a pressure while monitoring the deflection of the bulge apex. In the conventional bulge test, where the deflection is measured at a single point, the well-established bulge equations are used to convert the pressure-deflection relation into a stress–strain response. Yet, this ‘1D’ bulge test has limitations (related to setup drift, pressure variations, multi-layer stacks, sag of the reference state, etc.) that reduce the accuracy, especially for thin films, and make the test too slow for large-scale batch testing in industry. Moreover, the ‘1D’ bulge test is unsuited for membranes that buckled under compressive residual stress. Previously, the authors developed a ‘3D’ bulge test method for buckled membranes by measuring the full 3D displacement field through Digital Height Correlation (DHC) of a height pattern applied to the membrane. While this method is accurate, it is cumbersome and requires expertise. Here, an improved and straightforward ‘2D’ bulge test method is proposed. This technique measures full height profile of the inflated membrane, from which the curvature is obtained, hence ‘2D’, without the need for a pattern or DHC. Moreover, the bulge equations are recast to not depend on the reference state, making it faster, more accurate. Moreover, the ‘2D’ method is made suitable for buckled membranes, by exploiting mechanics insights in the ripple regime. Finite element simulations-based virtual experiments were used to validate the method and to optimize its accuracy. Subsequently, both circular and rectangular ultra-thin membranes were manufactured, for which it was demonstrated that their mechanical properties could be accurately measured. Furthermore, the methodology has also been applied to characterize ultra-thin buckled membranes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"825 ","pages":"Article 140737"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144656538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thin Solid FilmsPub Date : 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140743
A. Münzer , M. Weittenhiller , M. Bivour , F. Meyer , S.W. Glunz
{"title":"Effects of UV ns laser annealing on the electrical and microstructural properties of indium-based transparent conductive oxides","authors":"A. Münzer , M. Weittenhiller , M. Bivour , F. Meyer , S.W. Glunz","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140743","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140743","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates layer-selective laser annealing of thin transparent conductive oxides (TCO) for heat-sensitive substrates. UV nanosecond laser pulses are shown to be selectively absorbed in the layer, permanently altering microstructural and electrical properties of two different TCO thin films with minimal impact on the underlying solar cell structure. With increasing laser pulse fluence and repetitions the sheet resistance <em>R</em><sub>sh</sub> is continuously reduced for both TCOs. Hall- and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements reveal different annealing mechanisms, depending on the as-deposited properties of the films. An amorphous fluorine-doped indium oxide exhibits a dominating increase in carrier mobility due to induced crystallization. In contrast, for a polycrystalline tin-doped indium oxide, the reduced <em>R</em><sub>sh</sub> originates from an increased carrier concentration due to the creation of oxygen vacancies. In this case, laser annealing reduces <em>R</em><sub>sh</sub> to 90 ± 20 Ω/sq, thereby outperforming conventional thermal treatments (<em>R</em><sub>sh</sub> of 167 ± 8 Ω/sq). This advantage may be related to the short laser processing time, which could minimize depassivation of grain boundaries or defect formation in the TCOs. XRD and scanning electron microscopy analysis indicate structural and possibly stoichiometric gradients in the TCO thin films, suggesting surface-near modification in the range of several nanometers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"825 ","pages":"Article 140743"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144656535","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thin Solid FilmsPub Date : 2025-07-09DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140736
Espen Werdal Selfors , Amjad Al Taleb , Lena Nadine Majer , Sander Smink , Peter James Thomas , Naureen Akhtar , José María Castilla , Carlos Prieto , Daniel Farías , Jochen Mannhart , Wolfgang Braun , Bodil Holst
{"title":"Surface morphology’s role in water freezing onset: A study of graphene on ruthenium thin films produced with two different methods","authors":"Espen Werdal Selfors , Amjad Al Taleb , Lena Nadine Majer , Sander Smink , Peter James Thomas , Naureen Akhtar , José María Castilla , Carlos Prieto , Daniel Farías , Jochen Mannhart , Wolfgang Braun , Bodil Holst","doi":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140736","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140736","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ice formation strongly impacts on human activities in large parts of the world. Fundamental understanding of the icing properties of surfaces, with the aim of designing coatings and structures with anti-icing properties, is therefore an important research field. Optically transparent anti-icing solutions are needed for applications such as windshields on cars, sensor windows for long-time monitoring and camera lenses. Graphene is particularly attractive in this context because it is nearly transparent and robust. However, up until now little work has been done on the anti-icing properties of graphene and functionalized graphene. Here we present a study of the anti-icing properties of a range of graphene samples deposited on ruthenium films of varying thickness grown on sapphire. Both physical vapor deposition (200<!--> <!-->nm) and an alternative coating technique known as thermal laser epitaxy (15<!--> <!-->nm) were used for fabricating the ruthenium films. We show that the freezing onset for one of the graphene coatings grown with the alternative method is superior to previously published results on the freezing onset of graphene and fluorinated graphene. We also show that one can achieve similar results on a very high-quality bare sapphire surface. Our results obtained on surfaces with pits with curvatures estimated in the nanometer range indicate an insensitivity to chemical differences. This is in agreement with existing theory which proposes that the freezing onset is similar for all types of surfaces, as long as they display pits within a given radius of curvature range, differing only when surfaces become very rough or very smooth relative to the critical radius for ice nucleation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23182,"journal":{"name":"Thin Solid Films","volume":"825 ","pages":"Article 140736"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144696444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}