Hybrid ZnO/polymer thin films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

Zinc oxide/poly(acrylic acid) (ZnO/PAA) multilayered hybrid films with different layer thicknesses were prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Zinc peroxide was used as precursor materials for the preparation of ZnO layers, since the zinc peroxide decomposes to ZnO during the film deposition. The films have a high transmittance in the visible region and exhibit visible photoluminescence emission. The band gap energy of the films-determined by the Tauc relationship-decreases with increasing layer thickness (3.40-3.36 eV) due to the increasing crystalline size of the ZnO particles. The morphological investigations showed that a real layered hybrid film structure formed.