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Special Issue "Advances in Functional Polymer Films"

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1. Department of Physics "Ettore Pancini", University of Naples Federico II, Via Cintia 80126, Naples, Italy
2. CEntro Servizi Metrologici e tecnologici Avanzati (CeSMA), University of Naples Federico II, Corso Nicolangelo Protopisani 71, Naples, Italy
Interests: polymeric materilas; azopolymers; thin films; light structuring; optics

Dr. Stefano Luigi Oscurato

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Department of Physics "Ettore Pancini", University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Interests: photonics; optics; holography; microscopy; photolithography; azomaterials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is devoted to collecting recent research on and developments in functional polymer films. In general, functional materials are advanced and engineered materials designed and synthesized for some specific function with adequate morphology and tailored properties. Bottom-up and top-down methodologies for the production of this group of polymers are extensively studied and constantly evolving, owing the high interest in macromolecules and their wide diffusion. This Special Issue is intended to provide a collection of the latest manufacturing methods of functional polymer films and their modelling and characterization. We believe that this will be very useful for the scientific community due to the huge number of application fields in which functional polymer films can be used such as electronics, the manufacture of ultra-thin optical devices, and biomedicine, among others.

Dr. Marcella Salvatore
Dr. Stefano Luigi Oscurato
Guest Editors

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Keywords

polymer-based films
bio-based polymeric films
theory and simulation
design, synthesis, and analysis
polymer characterization methods

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Polysaccharide/Carbon Quantum Dots Composite Film on Model Colloidal Particles—An Electro-Optical Study

Viktoria Milkova

Polymers 2023, 15(18), 3766; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15183766 - 14 Sep 2023

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Abstract

Negatively charged carbon dots (Cdots) were successfully impregnated into chitosan/alginate film formed on model colloidal particles as a result of the attractive interactions with the chitosan molecules. The electrical properties of the produced films were studied by electrokinetic spectroscopy. In this study, the electric light scattering method was applied for first the time for the investigation of suspensions of carbon-based structures. The electro-optical behavior for the suspension of polymer-coated particles showed that the electric polarizability of the particle-covered layer from alginate was significantly higher compared to that of the layer from chitosan due to the higher charge density of alginate. The presence of a low concentration of Cdots in the film results in partial charge screening. It was confirmed that the polarizability of counterions with lower mobility along the adsorbed polyion chains was responsible for the registered electro-optical effect from the suspension of polymer-coated particles and that the participation of diffuse H⁺ counterions of Cdots in the creation of the electro-optical effect was negligible. The observed oscillation behavior in the evolution of the film thickness was interpreted through the participation of compensatory effects due to the additional adsorption/desorption of polyelectrolyte complexes from the film surface. The concentration of Cdots in the film was determined, and the loaded amount was ca. 6.6 µg/mL per layer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Polymer Films)

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Open AccessArticle

Diffractive Refractometer Based on Scalar Theory

and

Stefano Luigi Oscurato

Polymers 2023, 15(7), 1605; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15071605 - 23 Mar 2023

Viewed by 829

Abstract

The measurement of the refractive index typically requires the use of optical ellipsometry which, although potentially very accurate, is extremely sensitive to the structural properties of the sample and its theoretical modeling, and typically requires specialized expertise to obtain reliable output data. Here, we propose a simple diffractive method for the measurement of the refractive index of homogenous solid thin films, which requires only the structuring of the surface of the material to be measured with the profile of a diffraction grating. The refractive index of an exemplary soft-moldable material is successfully estimated over a wide wavelength range by simply incorporating the measured topography and diffraction efficiency of the grating into a convenient scalar theory-based diffraction model. Without the need for specialized expertise and equipment, the method can serve as a simple and widely accessible optical characterization of materials useful in material science and photonics applications. Full article

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Open AccessArticle

Viscoplastic Modeling of Surface Relief Grating Growth on Isotropic and Preoriented Azopolymer Films

and

Polymers 2023, 15(2), 463; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15020463 - 16 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1007

Abstract

We report on solving of two intriguing issues concerning the inscription of surface relief gratings within azopolymer thin films under irradiation with SS, PP and RL interference patterns. For this, we utilize the orientation approach and viscoplastic modeling in combination with experimental results, where the change in surface topography is acquired in situ during irradiation with modulated light. First, the initial orientation state of polymer backbones is proved to be responsible for the contradictory experimental reports on the efficiency of the SS interference pattern. Different orientation states can influence not only the phase of SS grating but also its height, which is experimentally confirmed by using special pretreatments. Second, the faster growth of gratings inscribed by the RL interference pattern is shown to be promoted by a weak photosoftening effect. Overall, the modeled results are in good agreement with the order of relative growth efficiency: RL–PP–SS. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional Polymer Films)

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