MODIFIED FULLERENE COATINGS FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL

FULLERNESS, PARTICULARLY C70, HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE THE NUCLEATION RATE FOR DEPOSITION OF NON-CONDUCTIVE DIAMOND FILMS ON SILICON. RESEARCHERS HAVE DEPOSITED THE C70 LAYER WITH AN ION CLUSTER BEAM DEPOSITION PROCESS AND ACTIVATED THE LAYER WITH A MICROWAVE PLASMA METHOD. ENHANCED NUCLEATION OFFERS THE POTENTIAL FOR ENHACED GROWTH OF SUPERIOR ULTRATHIN DIAMOND COATINGS WITH A FINE-GRAIN STRUCTURE, WHICH ARE OF INTEREST FOR MANY APPLICATIONS REQUIRING EXCEPTIONAL MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND CHEMICAL INERTNESS. RECENTLY, DEVELOPMENT BY GINER, INC. WITH BORON-DOPED CONDUCTIVE DIAMOND FILMS HAS EXPANDED THE NUMBER OF POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF DIAMOND-FILM TECHNOLOGY. WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE AN ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIC, SCALABLE METHOD FOR DEPOSITING A THIN C70 LAYER BY A SOLUTION-CASTING TECHNIQUES, FOLLOWED BY ELECTROCHEMICAL ACTIVITION OF THE C70. WE WILL INVESTIGATE THIS NOVEL DEPOSITION AND ACTIVATION METHOD FOR ENHANCING THE GROWTH OF CONDUCTIVE DIAMOND FILMS ON SELECT CONDUCTIVE SUBSTRATES. DURING PHASE I, WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE NATURE OF THE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE OF THE ELECTROCHEMICALLY ACTIVATED C70 LAYERS AND CORRELATE THE MORPHOLOGY TO THE PROPERTIES OF THE CONDUCTIVE DIAMOND LAYER. FORMATION OF SUPERIOR, PORE-FREE ULTRATHIN CONDUCTIVE DIAMOND FILMS WILL BE DEMONSTRATED THROUGH MEASUREMENT OF SURFACE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND CORROSION RESISTANCE. FOLLOWING TESTING, ANY CHANGES IN FILM PROPERTIES WILL BE DETERMINED. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS: FULLERENE-BASED, CONDUCTIVE DIAMOND FILMS ARE EXPECTED TO FIND APPLICATIONS IN MANY ELECTROLYTIC CELLS, ELECTRODES, AND AS BIPOLAR PLATES FOR LOW-TEMPERATURE (80-200OC) FUEL CELL SYSTEMS. POTENTIALLY IMPORTANT INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS INCLUDE ALUMINUM PRODUCTION, FUEL CELLS, BATTERIES AND PLATING INDUSTRIES. MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS FOR DIAMOND FILMS INCLUDE LENSES FOR INFRARED DETECTORS AND WEAR-RESISTANT COATINGS FOR TOOLS.