Vapor phase infiltration for transforming polymers into organic-inorganic hybrid materials: Processing science, structural complexity, and emerging applications

Vapor phase infiltration (VPI) exposes polymers to gaseous metalorganic molecules that sorb, diffuse, and become entrapped in the bulk polymer, transforming it into a complex organic-inorganic hybrid material.1 This process is pictured in Figure 1. While VPI’s gaseous dosing sequences may appear similar to other vapor deposition techniques (e.g., atomic layer deposition) the set of atomic scale processes occurring during synthesis constitute a fundamentally different process that results in not just a simple coating on the polymer but rather a complete alteration of the polymer’s bulk chemistry. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract