Silver nanometer-scale thin films by electroless deposition on insulating surfaces activated by gold nanoparticles

In this work, electroless deposition (ELD) of nanometer-scale silver (Ag) thin films on amino-terminated SiO2 surfaces activated by gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has been studied. Experimentally obtained results show that the saturated number of 5nm AuNPs adsorbed on the surfaces is considerably higher...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Electrochimica acta 2013-12, Vol.113, p.792-796
Main Authors: Inberg, A., Livshits, P., Zalevsky, Z., Levi, M., Shacham-Diamand, Y.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activated
Activation
Deposition
Electroless deposition
Gold
Precipitation of gold nanoparticles
Silver
SiO2/Si surfaces
Surface chemistry
Thin films
Ultra-thin films
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Summary:In this work, electroless deposition (ELD) of nanometer-scale silver (Ag) thin films on amino-terminated SiO2 surfaces activated by gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has been studied. Experimentally obtained results show that the saturated number of 5nm AuNPs adsorbed on the surfaces is considerably higher than that of 15nm and 25nm ones. Moreover, they precipitate substantially faster relative to their larger counterparts. As a result, substrate activation by 5nm AuNPs needed for subsequent metallization is ∼6 and ∼9 times faster than activation with Pd or 15nm AuNPs, respectively. Successful deposition of high quality Ag thin films on such surfaces was revealed by HRSEM imaging. During film growth, three distinct stages were observed: compact and isolated islands, coalesce equilibrium shapes, and continuous hole-free deposits. The optical and electrical properties of the films have been investigated and demonstrated in this work.
ISSN:0013-4686
1873-3859
DOI:10.1016/j.electacta.2013.05.015