Preparation of highly visible transparent ZnO/cellophane UV-shielding film by RF magnetron sputtering.

Abstract A novel UV-shielding film created by sputtering ZnO film onto a renewable and biodegradable cellophane film is proposed. The dependence of the optical properties of the ZnO/cellophane hybrid film on the sputtering power, pressure, and film thickness was studied systematically. A high crystalline quality ZnO film with preferred [002] orientation was prepared on a cellophane substrate for the first time. Unlike conventional UV-shielding films consisting of nanostructures and synthetic polymers, ZnO/cellophane hybrid film can possess high visible light transparency and excellent UV-shielding capacity at the same time. The improved performance can be attributed to the high crystalline quality and the antireflection effect of the ZnO film. A typical hybrid film exhibits a UV-shielding ratio of 96.5% while exhibiting a transmittance of visible light of over 80%. ZnO/cellophane hybrid films can be applied in a vast range of UV-shielding applications, such as sunburn protection and short-wave radiation protection in the laboratory. Graphical abstract fx1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]