Fabrication of Amorphous Silicon-Carbon Hybrid Films Using Single-Source Precursors.

The aim of this study was the preparation of different amorphous silicon-carbon hybrid thin-layer materials according to the liquid phase deposition (LPD) process using single-source precursors. In our study, 2-methyl-2-silyltrisilane (methylisotetrasilane; ), 1,1,1-trimethyl-2,2-disilyltrisilane (trimethylsilylisotetrasilane; ), 2-phenyl-2-silyltrisilane (phenylisotetrasilane; ), and 1,1,2,2,4,4,5,5-octamethyl-3,3,6,6-tetrasilylcyclohexasilane (cyclohexasilane; ) were utilized as precursor materials and compared with the parent compound 2,2-disilyltrisilane (neopentasilane; ). Compounds - were successfully oligomerized at λ = 365 nm with catalytic amounts of the neopentasilane oligomer ().

Surface-Initiated Polymerizations Mediated by Novel Germanium-Based Photoinitiators.

Since surface-initiated photopolymerization techniques have gained increasing interest within the last decades, the coupling of photoinitiators to surfaces and particles has become an important research topic in material and surface sciences. In terms of surface modification and functionalization, covalently coupled photoinitiators and subsequent photopolymerizations are employed to provide a huge variety of surface properties, such as wettability, stimulus responsive features, antifouling behavior, protein binding, friction control, drug delivery, and many more. For this purpose, numerous type I and type II photoinitiators or other photosensitive moieties have been attached to different substrates so far.

Anti-Adhesive Organosilane Coating Comprising Visibility on Demand.

There is a wide application field for anti-adhesive and hydrophobic coatings, stretching from self-cleaning surfaces over anti-graffiti and release coatings to demolding aids in the production of polymers. The typical materials for the latter are hard coatings, including TiN, CrN, diamond-like carbon, etc. Alternatively, organosilane coatings based on perfluorinated compounds or molecules with long alkyl side chains can be employed.

A new method for successful indirect bonding in relation to bond strength.

The aim of the work was to develop a new transfer method for indirect bonding of brackets to improve the bond strength by applying a uniform contact pressure over the entire dental arch. This has a great potential to reduce the bracket loss rate during clinical treatment. A suitable shape memory polymer (SMP) was selected and prepared in the chemistry laboratory.

Surface-Immobilized Photoinitiators for Light Induced Polymerization and Coupling Reactions.

Straightforward and versatile surface modification, functionalization and coating have become a significant topic in material sciences. While physical modification suffers from severe drawbacks, such as insufficient stability, chemical induced grafting processes efficiently modify organic and inorganic materials and surfaces due to covalent linkage. These processes include the "grafting from" method, where polymer chains are directly grown from the surface in terms of a surface-initiated polymerization and the "grafting to" method where a preformed (macro)-molecule is introduced to a preliminary treated surface via a coupling reaction.