Solid state physics is the study of how atoms arrange themselves into solids and what properties these solids have. By examining the arrangement of the atoms and considering how electrons move among the atoms, it is possible to understand many macroscopic properties of materials such as their elasticity, electrical conductivity, or optical properties. The Institute of Solid State Physics focuses on organic, molecular, and nanostructured materials. Often detailed studies of the behavior of these materials at surfaces are made. Our research provides the foundation for important advances in technology such as energy efficient lighting, solar cells, electronic books, environmental sensors, and medical sensors.

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Doping molecular wires

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Chemoresponsive molecules

Solid State Seminar - Winter 2024
Monday 02 December 2024      

Inorganic Nanostructures from Block-Copolymer Templates by means of Sequential Infiltration Synthesis: Physico-Chemical Mechanisms driving Al2O3 Incorporation into Polymers
Michele Perego, Instituto per la Micoelettronica e Microsistemi, CNR, Milano
https://tugraz.webex.com/tugraz/j.php?MTID=m87bfd92e172970352a6e7d2a5ac67e97

Abstract: Sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS) is a vapor phase infiltration technique for the creation of
hybrid organic-inorganic materials and/or inorganic nanostructures from a suitable polymer
template. SIS was derived from the application of the well-known atomic layer deposition (ALD)
technique on polymer films.1 In particular, the permeability of polymers to some of the precursors
that are commonly used in ALD is exploited during SIS to grow an inorganic phase into the volume
of the polymer matrix. So far, the number of inorganic materials that can be grown by SIS is quite
limited.2 To expand the library of materials and widen the application fields of this technique,
fundamental studies on sorption, diffusion and reaction mechanisms are necessary.3
In this seminar the state of the art in the field will be presented. Current efforts to understand the
fundamental physico-chemical mechanisms governing infiltration of inorganic materials into a
polymer matrix will be reviewed, providing an overview of our experimental work about infiltration
into thin polymer films. In particular, we will described how infiltration into self-assembled block-
copolymer templates could be exploited to generate periodic nanostructures having sub 20 nm
features with excellent control on their characteristic dimensions.4,5 Moreover, we will show how
operando spectroscopic ellipsometry can be used to obtain information about the
precursors/polymer interaction.6–9 This methodology will be combined with other ex situ
characterization techniques and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to obtain a
comprehensive picture of the SIS process, providing a toolkit to disclose the complexities of SIS at
the molecular level.

(1) Lee, S.-M.; Pippel, E.; Gösele, U.; Dresbach, C.; Qin, Y.; Chandran, C. V.; Bräuniger, T.; Hause,
G.; Knez, M. Greatly Increased Toughness of Infiltrated Spider Silk. Science 2009, 324 (5926), 488–
492. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1168162.
(2) Waldman, R. Z.; Mandia, D. J.; Yanguas-Gil, A.; Martinson, A. B. F.; Elam, J. W.; Darling, S. B.
The Chemical Physics of Sequential Infiltration Synthesis—A Thermodynamic and Kinetic
Perspective. J. Chem. Phys. 2019, 151 (19), 190901. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5128108.
(3) Leng, C. Z.; Losego, M. D. A Physiochemical Processing Kinetics Model for the Vapor Phase
Infiltration of Polymers: Measuring the Energetics of Precursor-Polymer Sorption, Diffusion, and
Reaction. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2018, 20 (33), 21506–21514.
https://doi.org/10.1039/C8CP04135K.
(4) Frascaroli, J.; Cianci, E.; Spiga, S.; Seguini, G.; Perego, M. Ozone-Based Sequential Infiltration
Synthesis of Al 2 O 3 Nanostructures in Symmetric Block Copolymer. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces
2016, 8 (49), 33933–33942. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6b11340.
(5) Seguini, G.; Motta, A.; Bigatti, M.; Caligiore, F. E.; Rademaker, G.; Gharbi, A.; Tiron, R.;
Tallarida, G.; Perego, M.; Cianci, E. Al 2 O 3 Dot and Antidot Array Synthesis in Hexagonally Packed
Poly(Styrene- Block -Methyl Methacrylate) Nanometer-Thick Films for Nanostructure Fabrication.
ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2022, 5 (7), 9818–9828. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.2c02013.
(6) Cianci, E.; Nazzari, D.; Seguini, G.; Perego, M. Trimethylaluminum Diffusion in PMMA Thin
Films during Sequential Infiltration Synthesis: In Situ Dynamic Spectroscopic Ellipsometric
Investigation. Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 5 (20), 1801016.
(7) Caligiore, F. E.; Nazzari, D.; Cianci, E.; Sparnacci, K.; Laus, M.; Perego, M.; Seguini, G. Effect of
the Density of Reactive Sites in P(S-r-MMA) Film during Al2O3 Growth by Sequential Infiltration
Synthesis. Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2019, 6 (12), 1900503. https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.201900503.
(8) Perego, M.; Seguini, G.; Wiemer, C.; Caligiore, F. E.; Cianci, E. Al2O3 Growth in PMMA Thin
Films by Sequential Infiltration Synthesis: In Situ Thickness Evolution and Mass Uptake Investigation.
Mater. Adv. 2024, 5 (9), 3992–3997. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3MA01159C.
(9) Motta, A.; Seguini, G.; Wiemer, C.; Perego, M. Sequential Infiltration Synthesis of Al 2 O 3 in
PMMA Thin Films: Temperature Investigation by Operando Spectroscopic Ellipsometry. ACS Appl.
Mater. Interfaces 2024, 16 (27), 35825–35833. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c06887.