Catalyst-Free Plasma-Assisted Copolymerization of Poly(ε-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) for Biomedical Applications

Catalyst-free ring-opening polymerization (ROP) strategy was developed to overcome the disadvantage of incomplete and expensive removal of catalyst used during the multistep wet chemical processes. Nano-sized biocompatible and low molecular weight poly­(ε-carolactone)-poly­(ethylene glycol) (PCL-PEG) copolymer coatings were deposited via a single-step, low-pressure, pulsed-plasma polymerization process. Experiments were performed at different monomer feed ratio and effective plasma power. The coatings were analyzed by XPS, as well as MALDI ToF. Ellipsometric measurement showed deposition rates ranging from 1.3 to 3 nm/min, depending on the ratio of the PCL/PEG precursors introduced in the reactor. Our results have demonstrated that plasma copolymerized PCL-PEG coatings can be tailored in such a way to be cell adherent, convenient for biomedical implants such as artificial skin substrates, or cell repellent, which can be used as antibiofouling surfaces for urethral catheters, cardiac stents, and so on. The global objective of this study is to tailor the surface properties of PCL by copolymerizing it with PEG in the pulsed plasma environment to improve their applicability in tissue engineering and biomedical science

Visible Light Water Splitting via Oxidized TiN Thin Films

Thin films of TiN were prepared via RF magnetron reactive sputtering at various deposition pressures. The characteristics of the plasmas were measured by optical emission spectroscopy to optimize the conditions for the deposition of TiN coatings. After deposition, the thin films were annealed in a closed furnace at several different temperatures, and revealed the formation of different phases of TiO₂. The resulting TiN/TiO₂ thin films showed drastic changes in their crystal structure, optical properties, and photoelectrochemical performance. By examining how the deposition pressure and postdeposition annealing conditions affected the TiN film structure and performance, samples were prepared to optimize visible light absorption and activity. A model for the oxidation process was proposed which described the structural change from TiN to TiO₂ through optical, morphological, and crystalline characterization. This study has systematically shown the ability to tailor the optical, crystalline, and photoactive properties of TiO₂ by tailoring the intrinsic properties of TiN thin films and subsequent annealing. These results can be utilized for many solar driven optoelectronic devices