Correlating charge fluence with nanoparticle formation during in situ plasma synthesis of nanocomposite films

Souvik Ghosh, David R. Boris, Sandra C. Hernández, Christian A. Zorman, Scott G. Walton, R. Mohan Sankaran

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Plasmas enable the fabrication of nanocomposites via in situ reduction of metal precursors dispersed in polymer films. The mechanism for reduction has not yet been revealed and it is not known how plasma parameters affect nanoparticle formation. Here, we present a systematic study using a low-pressure, pulsed electron beam generated argon plasma to treat silver cation-containing polyacrylic acid films. The background pressure, treatment time, period, and pulse width are varied to influence charged species generation. We show a direct correlation between nanoparticle density, as assessed by ultraviolet-visible absorbance analysis, and the charge fluence. Although the experiments could not separate the specific role of ions and electrons, our results demonstrate the importance of charged species to nanoparticle formation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number1700079
JournalPlasma Processes and Polymers
Volume14
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

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