Thermal, morphological and optical investigations of Cu(DAB)2 thin films produced by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation and laser-induced forward transfer for sensor development

Many hybrid metal–organic complex materials which exhibit crystalline nature, nonlinear optical properties and chemoselective behavior generate interest as choice materials in various applications. In this paper we report results on Cu(II) 2,2′-dihydroxyazobenzene thin films deposited on silicon and quartz substrates by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation using a Nd:YAG laser, at 266 and 355 nm laser wavelengths. Thermal analysis, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry were performed in order to investigate thin film properties. Micrometric pixels of the compound have been transferred on glass plates by laser-induced forward transfer for chemoselective sensor development purposes.

► Cu(II) 2,2’-dihydroxyazobenzene thin films were grown by MAPLE.
► Thermal analysis was performed on both bulk and thin films.
► Thin films were investigated by means of microscopy and spectroscopic-ellipsometry.
► Micrometric pixels of the compound were transferred by LIFT.