Universal dispersing agent for electrophoretic deposition of inorganic materials with improved adsorption, triggered by chelating monomers

Poly[1-[4-(3-carboxy-4-hydroxyphenylazo)benzenesulfonamido]-1,2-ethanediyl, sodium salt] (PAZO) is a polymeric functional material with a number of unique physical properties, which attracted significant interest of different scientific communities. Films of PAZO were deposited by anodic electrophoretic deposition (EPD) under constant current and constant voltage conditions. The deposition kinetics was analyzed under different conditions and the deposition mechanism was discussed. New strategy was developed for the EPD of different inorganic materials and composites using PAZO as a dispersing, charging, binding and film forming agent. It was found that PAZO exhibits remarkable adsorption on various inorganic materials due to the presence of chelating salicylate ligands in its molecular structure. The salicylate ligands of PAZO monomers provide multiple adsorption sites by complexation of metal atoms on particle surfaces and allow for efficient electrosteric stabilization of particle suspensions. The remarkable performance of PAZO in its application in EPD have been exemplified by deposition of a wide variety of inorganic materials including the single element oxides (NiO, ZnO, Fe2O3) the complex oxides (Al2TiO5, BaTiO3, ZrSiO4, CoFe2O4) different nitrides (TiN, Si3N4, BN) as well as pure Ni metal and hydrotalcite clay. The use of PAZO can avoid limitation of other dispersing agents in deposition and co-deposition of different materials. Composite films were obtained using PAZO as a co-dispersant for different inorganic materials. The deposit composition, microstructure and deposition yield can be varied. The EPD method offers the advantages of simplicity, high deposition rate, and ability to deposit thin or thick films.