Overview of Chemically Vapor Deposited (CVD) Polymers

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) polymer films can be applied to nearly any substrate. For the highest quality polymer films, CVD is the method of choice, even for layers that can be formed by other means. Durability is paramount in the majority of applications for polymeric coatings. The formation of insoluble crosslinked organic networks by CVD is one synthesis strategy for achieving durability. In many cases, CVD polymerization methods represent the direct translation of solution phase organic synthesis methods into heterogeneous processes for surface modification. The initiated CVD (iCVD) is a versatile method for synthesizing chain growth polymers. The oxidative chemical vapor deposition (oCVD) method enables the step growth of conjugated polymers that are typically either semiconductors or electrical conductors. Both vapor deposition polymerization (VDP) and molecular layer deposition (MLD) are useful for step growth polymers synthesized through condensation reactions.