Improving the adhesion of polymethacrylate thin films onto indium tin oxide electrodes using a silane-based "Molecular Adhesive

Indium tin oxide (ITO) is the most commonly used transparent conducting substance. It has been used in numerous applications such as light-emitting diodes. In most applications and studies, the ITO surface is further coated with additional layers. The interface between the ITO and the coating is of utmost importance since it affects the physical and chemical properties of the final device. Improving the adhesion between ITO and a coating layer can be achieved by applying a "molecular adhesive" as an inter-phasing molecular layer. In this study, we used 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate as a "molecule adhesive" for better connection between ITO and a polymethacrylate layer. The samples were studied by electrochemistry, contact angle goniometry, atomic force microscopy, and nano scratch microscopy. These studies clearly show that a simple silanization process formed a thin molecular adhesive layer, which did not influence the physical and chemical properties of the final coated electrode and at the same time increased significantly the adhesion between the ITO and the polymethacrylate coating.