Electrophoretic deposition of BaTiO3 films on a Si substrate coated with conducting polyaniline layers

In this work, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique was employed for fabricating the barium titanate (BaTiO3) films on the Si substrate modified with the ordered conducting polyaniline (PANI) layers. Firstly, surface polymerization of ordered conducting PANI layers on the Si substrate modified with the aniline-bearing silane self-assembled monolayer was performed by polymerization of aniline monomer in an acidic aqueous solution. Then, EPD of BaTiO3 films was fulfilled using the conducting PANI layers coated Si wafer as the cathode. The analytical results demonstrate that the crack-free, relatively dense and smooth BaTiO3 films have been accomplished on the PANI layers modified Si substrate with the appropriate suspension concentration and the deposited film thickness can be changed expediently by adjusting EPD process parameters. This method provides a potential route for fabricating ceramic films on the non-conductive Si or glass substrates using EPD technique.