Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
A three-step sol-gel process was developed to prepare organic dye-doped thinfilms with tailored porosity for applications in chemical sensing andoptoelectronics. Varying the acid- and base-catalyzed hydrolysis steps ofsols prepared from tetraethoxysilane with identical final H2O/Siratios, dilution factors and pH resulted in considerably differentdistributions of the silicate polymers in the sol (determined by 29Si NMR) and considerably different structures for thepolymer clusters (determined by SAXS). During film formation these kineticeffects cause differences in the packing and collapse of the silicatenetwork, leading to thin films with different refractive indices and volumefraction porosities. Under conditions where small pore-plugging species wereavoided, the porosities of as-deposited films could be varied by aging thesol prior to film deposition. This strategy, which relies on the growth andaggregation of fractal polymeric clusters, is compatible with the lowtemperature and near neutral pH requirements of organic dyes.