Deposition of aminosilane coatings on porous Al2O3 microspheres by means of dielectric barrier discharges

Advances in the synthesis of porous microspheres and in their functionalization are increasing the interest in applications of alumina. This paper deals with coatings plasma deposited from 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane by means of dielectric barrier discharges on alumina porous microspheres, shaped by a vibrational droplet coagulation technique. Aims of the work are the functionalization of the particles with active amino groups, as well as the evaluation of their surface coverage and of the penetration of the coatings into their pores. A multi-diagnostic approach was used for the chemical/morphological characterization of the particles. It was found that 5min exposure to plasma discharges promotes the deposition of homogeneous coatings onto the microspheres and within their pores, down to 1μm.