A facile sol–gel synthesis of crack-free photopolymerizable silica for holographic recording

A series of sol–gel based photopolymerizable silica glass for holographic storage has been synthesized via a facile chemical design in an effort to overcome the cracking problem incurred during the irradiation stage. The holographic composite material includes a low molecular weight polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with end-capped hydroxyl groups, an epoxide-containing coupling agent, a photopolymerizable acrylate monomer, and the sol–gel-derived silica matrix. Inclusion of PDMS provides improved compression stress and strain and toughness over the original unmodified samples, without deterioration on the diffraction efficiency (η). A plateau value of η ~ 40% can be found under a beam power of 5.02 mW. Correlation between the molecular weight of acrylate polymer and η of the holographic composite material is described and the discrepancies are analyzed. The premature saturation of polymerization in the holographic system is attributed to the retarded free radical polymerization within the silica matrix. Minor variation of η with photoinitiator concentration is observed, indicating that only moderate molecular weight is required for a reasonably high η. Based on the chemical and physical interactions within the material system, a crack-free mechanism is elucidated. Finally, the adverse effect of the residual photoinitiator on the holographic media is addressed.

► A facile chemical design on crack-free sol–gel silica for optical storage.
► Sharp diffraction patterns with high diffraction efficiency (η) are obtained.
► Improved cracking by inclusion of rubbery PDMS without reduction on η.
► η is ultimately controlled by polydispersity, not molecular weight, of polyacrylate.