Deposition of nanocomposite coatings on wood using cold discharges at atmospheric pressure

This work examines the synthesis of nanocomposite thin films on wood (sugar maple, Acer saccharum, Marsh) surfaces via a one-step process in an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). More specifically, ZnO-SiO2 nanocomposite coatings are obtained from the atomization in the DBD reactor operated in N2/N2O (Townsend discharge) of a stable colloidal suspension. This suspension is made of crystalline ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed in hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) and pentane (Pe). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) show ZnO agglomerates well embedded into a dense SiO2 matrix. The chemical composition and the thickness of the matrix is analyzed through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) coupled to ellipsometry measurements. SEM further reveals a lumpy morphology; a feature ascribed to the intrinsic roughness of the wood samples.