Ion beam induced polymerization of a diacetylene

Abstract We report the first results of ion-beam-induced polymerization of a diacetylene. Large area (≃ 0.5 × 0.5 cm) thin (≃ 1 μm) single crystal TCDU (bis-phenylurethane of 5,7-dodecadiyn-1,12-diol) monomer films have been obtained using a novel melt-shear growth technique. The solid state polymerization reaction of these films was initiated by ion beams in 100 keV energy range. Raman spectroscopy and optical absorption experiments have been performed to characterize the polymerized crystalline samples. The quality of the polymeric films has been studied as a function of the ion beam energy and fluence of implantation. Highly anisotropic films of good quality were obtained using very low implantation fluences (φ < 1013 cm−2) and ion beam currents during the irradiation. Our data shows that the polymeric film thickness can be well controlled by the ion beam parameters. Results of ion beam and UV irradiation induced polymerization are compared.