I am not an expert in that field, but I can try to give you some hints.

There are several methoths to produce free standing polymer films.

The most simple is probably spin coating of a solution of polymer precursor in a solvent. Spinning will produce a thin liquid film. After evaporation a thin polymer film remains on the substrate. If you are lucky the film can be peeled of from the substrate.

The thicknes of the final film can be controlled by the spinning frequency and concentration of the polymer.

A similar but simpler method is dip coating. You dip you substrate into the solution and take it out.

Usually spin coating produces film with a better homogeneity.

This works in principle with many polymers (PE, PS, PMMA, ..) but as said, I am not an expert on this.

To produce free standing films you have to remove your film from the substrate. There are some tricky methods (but I know no reference for them).

A relatively simple method is to remove the sample by dissolving it.

You could for example deposit on NaCl substrates and dissolve them in water or on aluminum and dissolve it in NaCl (rather aggressive, be careful).

Hope that helps

Wolfgang

Dear Jacob,

Thank you for your comment. I've done that during my PhD....but the thin film isn't strong to stand on its own. Nevertheless, it is an interesting idea for thin film materials will be the future technology as more and more gadgets becoming thinner....soon the battery. Therefore, I am looking into Ideas to create thin film battery from polymer materials. Anybody wants to join me....? I have many things to learn ..during the exploration.

Dear Agam

There are different techniques applying for fabricating polymer based thin films such as electrochemical method (Electrodeposition), spin coating. drop casting, radio frequency plasma polymerization, electron beam lithography, focused ion beam and laser ablation etc., Physical methods gives good adhesive deposition on the substrate. substrate surface is having roughness we can get well adhesive thin films and deposition. So please you have to choose anyone method depending upon instrument facility available in your lab.

Solution casting technique

I am working on nanocomposite polymer/phosphors film and I can advise you, as Chiam, the solution casting technique if you can use soluble polymers.

Some details can be found in several papers made by our Institute:

Deschamps, J., A. Potdevin, N. Caperaa, G. Chadeyron, S. Therias, and R. Mahiou, A promising way to obtain large, luminescent and transparent thick films suitable for optical devices. New Journal of Chemistry, 2010. 34: p. 385-387.

Gaume, J., C. Taviot-Gueho, S. Cros, A. Rivaton, S. Therias, and J.-L. Gardette, Optimization of PVA clay nanocomposite for ultra-barrier multilayer encapsulation of organic solar cells. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 2012. 99: p. 240-249.

One of our future papers will also deal about this topic.

The films elaborated using this method exhibit thicknesses superior to 10 µm but you can attain thinner layers. Moreover to have self-standing film, it must not be too thin.

I hope I have helped you.

Regards

Thank You to all. I am a bit busy at the moment, due to my other task as the deputy dean for postgraduate. I'll look into the solutions given by all of you and am very please to get your comments.

I have managed to create the thin freestanding film, well thank You for all suggestions. I am looking into incorporating other materials to this thin film, and Thank you to suggested papers by Audrey...I will look for it later. I am looking forward, thin film as mask of depositing materials....

A uniform thin film of thickness about 20-30 micrometer is easily obtained by solution casting technique.

Dear Vijay soman

What do about adhesive nature of the thin film on substrate

Hi Mohd , could you explain which way you followed, which materials you used and what is the thickness you obtained? After all this discussion would help other scientists as well.

Thank you

Dear Dilek,

I managed to get the thin film, but as you know, it do relate to the fabrication technique ...the larger it is, it become less stable in term of strength, elasticity and much more difficult to peel from substrate. So, I am still looking into it, and could not make any confirmation...but as been told by others, by Vijay, Audrey and Baskar,...the thickness play a bigger role. How thin it is possible? Could also related to the fabrication area...I think smaller area, we could make as thin as less than 10 micron...but if larger area, probably it will be difficult to peel polymers from substrate due to adhessive nature and mechanical contact....Johnson, kendall Robert Theory on materials attached to surfaces....the adhession will increased to mechanical contact. Please sent me email [email protected] to discuss personally, cause the research is still in progress. Cheers

You can search publications on sub-micrometer membranes by the term "giant nanomembrane".

Thank You Toyoki...appreciate it.

You can make 30-50 micrometer thick polymer films by dip coating and spin coating techniques.

If you have a polymer well above entanglement, you can make incredibly thin free-standing films. I have personally made 30 nm (yes, that is nanometer) thick free-standing polystyrene films http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v107/i23/e235701. If you spin coat a hydrophobic polymer film onto freshly cleaved mica, it will float off onto a water surface when it is lowered in. Just cut it with a scalpel in the shape you want and when the water gets in between the film and the mica, it will float off. You can then catch it on whatever substrate or holder you want. Thicker films are obviously easier to handle and there is a lot of practice required to get good at floating.

The real question is what you need the film to be able to do. What do you mean by "stand on its own"? Do you want something you can use like seran wrap, or do you want a suspended membrane? What do you want to do with the free-standing film?