Polysilazane as the source of silica: the formation of dense silica coatings at room temperature and the new route to organic–inorganic hybrids

Xylene solutions of perhydropolysilazane (PHPS) were used as the coating solutions for preparing silica coatings at room temperature. The PHPS-to-silica conversion was achieved by exposing the spin-on coatings to the vapor from aqueous ammonia. In order to examine the significance of the mechanical properties of the PHPS-derived silica coatings, the pencil hardness was measured, which was compared with that of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)-derived silica coatings. The pencil hardness was over 9H at a load of 1 kg, which was much higher than that of the TEOS-derived silica gel films, and was comparable to that of the TEOS-derived films heat treated at 300 °C. Second, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)–silica hybrid coatings were prepared from xylene solutions of PMMA and PHPS via exposure to the vapor from aqueous ammonia. Crack-free, optically transparent PMMA–silica hybrid coatings could be prepared, where PHPS-to-silica conversion was confirmed by infrared absorption spectroscopy. The refractive index was around 1.42–1.50, and the contact angle with water increased from 35 to 70° with increasing PMMA content. The pencil hardness greatly increased during the PHPS-to-silica conversion, and was much higher than that of the non-heat treated TEOS-derived hybrid coatings. The durability in tetrahydrofuran (THF) was also evaluated by measuring the reduction in thickness occurring during soaking in THF. The durability decreased with increasing PMMA content, but was much higher than that of the non-heat treated TEOS-derived hybrid coatings. Both the hardness and the durability were comparable to those of the TEOS-derived coatings heated at 300 °C. The hybrid coatings could also be deposited on poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrates, where no cracks were observed at high PMMA contents even when the substrate was bent.