Combinatorial chemistry methods for coating development V: generating a combinatorial array of uniform coatings samples

Combinatorial methods have proven to be valuable tools for the development of new compounds, catalysts, and electronic materials. We have developed a combinatorial factory capable of preparing and evaluating about 100 organic clear coatings in a day. Successful application of combinatorial methods to coatings development requires rapid and uniform preparation of a large number of diverse coatings. We have found that centrifugal spin casting is an effective method of producing an array of 48 coatings samples, each 9 turn diameter. The uniformity and flatness of each sample is dependent on specific process details such as protection from air currents and control of the evaporation process to avoid the "coffee ring effect". (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.