Structural Evolution During Repeated Spray Deposition of FeCl₃‐Doped Poly(Styrene)‐b‐Poly(4‐Vinyl Pyridine) Layers
Abstract Nanostructured hematite (α‐Fe₂O₃) films exhibit significant potential for energy, environmental, and medical applications. In the present work, a large‐scale spray coating deposition method, scanning electron microscopy, and in situ grazing‐incidence small‐angle X‐ray scattering are combined to investigate the structure formation mechanism of pure poly(styrene)‐ b ‐poly(4‐vinyl pyridine) (PS‐ b ‐P4VP) and hybrid PS‐ b ‐P4VP/FeCl₃ films during and after spray deposition. Under the film deposition conditions specified in this experiment, a layered pure PS‐ b ‐P4VP film, a sponge‐like hybrid PS‐ b ‐P4VP/FeCl₃ film, and a porous α‐Fe 2 O 3 film are obtained upon completion of the deposition. The morphological differences between the investigated pure PS‐ b ‐P4VP and hybrid PS‐ b ‐P4VP/FeCl₃ films result from the interplay among the complexation between FeCl₃ and P4VP segments, the crystallization of the P4VP segment, and the surface diffusion of the FeCl 3 species. The findings of this work can offer both experimental and theoretical guidance for designing spray‐deposited block copolymer and hybrid films.
Authors
- Matthias Schwartzkopf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2115-9286)
- Suzhe Liang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8773-897X)
- Zhuijun Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8987-2638)
- Ya‐Jun Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0932-295X)
- Wei Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7578-0900)
- Yuqin Zou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4293-7008)
- Shanshan Yin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5363-0837)
- Suo Tu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3737-2425)
- Peter Müller‐Buschbaum (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9566-6088)
- Guangjiu Pan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9187-6267)
- Ting Tian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9156-2193)
- Stephan Volkher Roth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6940-6012)
- Lixing Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3551-6507)
- Liang-Jun Zhai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4483-689X)
- Lyuyang Cheng
Institutions
- Hohai University (CN)
- Tiangong University (CN)
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY (DE)
- Jiangsu University of Technology (CN)
- Technical University of Munich (DE)
- KTH Royal Institute of Technology (SE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials Interfaces
- Published
- 2025-07-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202500298
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Polymer Synthesis and Characterization
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Solar Technologies go Hybrid
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- China Scholarship Council
- Technische Universität München
- Qinglan Project of Jiangsu Province of China
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron