Deposition and characterization of diamond-like carbon thin films by electro-deposition technique using organic liquid

Diamond-like carbon films were synthesized by electro-deposition technique from an organic liquid (a solution of alpha- and beta-pinenes in n-hexane) on silicon substrate at room temperature and at room pressure. The x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, Raman spectra, photoluminescence (PL), and x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra analysis were used to study the properties of the diamond-like carbon (as-deposited and annealed) films. The XRD measurement indicated that the film contains some diamond-crystalline phases whereas Raman spectra did not show any prominent diamond-like peak. PL intensity as higher for the as-deposited film and decreased with high-temperature vacuum annealing. FTIR spectra showed the presence of sp 3 hybridization C–H bonds and their intensity decreases at higher annealing temperature. C and O K-edge XANES spectra showed that *( sp 2 ) intensity significantly decreases when the annealing temperature is 600 °C. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have attracted interest for several applications, such as corrosion protective coatings of metal, wear-resistant coatings, and use as optical and electronic components. A large number of different methods, including chemical vapor deposition techniques, 1 ion-beam laser processing techniques, 2 etc., are used for the preparation of these films. However, we have succeeded in demonstrating a new method for the preparation of those films in an atmospheric pressure and at room temperature. This method is based on an electrochemical process. This is our first attempt to deposit DLC films by this technique using organic compounds, in this case, a solution of alpha- and beta-pinenes in n-hexane. The electrodeposition technique is not widely used for the preparation of DLC films and very few reports were found. 3–8 In this article, we present the preparation of the DLC films having thickness 700 nm by an easy and inexpensive electrodeposition technique at room pressures and temperature using organic compounds and discuss their preliminary characterization.

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