A facile strategy to synthesize bimetallic Au/Ag nanocomposite film by layer-by-layer assembly technique

A facile strategy has been developed for the preparation of bimetallic gold–silver (Au–Ag) nanocomposite films by alternating absorption of poly-(ethyleneimine)–silver ions and Au onto substrates and subsequent reduction of the silver ions. The composition, micro-structure and properties of the {PEI–Ag/Au}_n nanocomposite films were characterized by ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), transmisson electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The UV–vis characteristic absorbances of {PEI–Ag/Au}_n nanocomposite thin film increase almost linear with the number of bilayers, which indicates a process of uniform assembling. Appearance of a double plasmon bands in the visible region and the lack of apparent core–shell structures in the TEM images confirm the formation of bimetallic Au–Ag nanoparticles. The result of XPS also demonstrates the existence of Ag and Au nanoparticles in the nanocomposite films. TEM and FESEM images show that these Ag and Au nanoparticles in the films possess sphere structure with the size of 20–25 nm. The resulting {PEI–Ag/Au}_n films inherit the properties from both the metal Ag and Au, which exhibits a unique performance in SERS and electrocatalytic activities to the oxidation of dopamine. As a result, the {PEI–Ag/Au}_n films are more attractive compared to {PEI–Ag/PSS}_n and {PEI/Au}_n films.     

Preparation of ultrathin gold films by oxygen-ion sputtering and their optical properties

The optical and electrical properties of gold films of thickness varying from less than 1 to 8 nm are studied. The films are obtained by sputtering with argon ion and oxygen ion beams. It is shown that the properties of the films are independent of the type of ions used for sputtering. The 1-to 5-nm-thick films are continuous and offer a high transparency. Sputtering by oxygen ion beams is used to produce NiO_x/Au ohmic contacts to p-GaN.     

CdTe太阳电池的不同背电极和背接触层的特性研究

用Ni替代Au来作为CdTe太阳电池的背电极，比较了Ni,Ni/Au,Au/Ni及Au背电极对电池性能的影响.发现Ni作为背电极和ZnTe/ZnTe:Cu复合层接触，电池的开路电压V_oc略有降低，填充因子FF有增有减，变化幅度不大，但因短路电流I_sc有较大的提高，转换效率η平均增长4％.测试了不同背电极的CdTe太阳电池的暗I-V和C-V特性，对背电极剥离后的样品进行了XPS测试分析.结果表明，Ni扩散到ZnTe/ZnTe:Cu复合层的深度比Au多，且大多呈离子态，与ZnTe/ZnTe:Cu复合层中的富Te离子形成Ni_xTe，提高了掺杂浓度，使电池性能获得改善. 关键词： 金属背电极 复合背接触层 转换效率 CdTe太阳电池     

Angle-dependent ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy of sputter cleaned polycrystalline noble metals

Polycrystalline noble metal films are commonly used in practical applications across a variety of different fields. However, the surface electronic structure of the noble metals has primarily only been studied on single crystal substrates. In addition, sputter cleaned polycrystalline noble metal films are commonly used substrates in ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) studies, but have yet to be systematically studied in terms of their photoemission anisotropy. The angle-dependence of the valence band spectra of sputter cleaned polycrystalline Au, Ag and Cu were studied using angle-resolved UPS. It is found that the photoemission is anisotropic with respect to photoelectron take-off angle. The results for Ag and Cu are in good agreement with previous reports of surface d-band narrowing in polycrystalline noble metal films. However, significant anisotropies in the d-band, s-band and Fermi edge of sputter cleaned Au are observed, which cannot be attributed to surface d-band narrowing alone. The unusual results for Au are attributed to drastic changes in the film morphology near the surface as a result of sputter cleaning.     

Au/TiO2/Ru(0 0 0 1) model catalysts and their interaction with CO

Au/TiO₂/Ru(0 0 0 1) model catalysts and their interaction with CO were investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy and different surface spectroscopies. Thin titanium oxide films were prepared by Ti deposition on Ru(0 0 0 1) in an O₂ atmosphere and subsequent annealing in O₂. By optimizing the conditions for deposition and post-treatment, smooth films were obtained either as fully oxidized TiO₂ or as partly reduced TiO_x, depending on the preparation conditions. CO adsorbed molecularly on both oxidized and reduced TiO₂, with slightly stronger bonding on the reduced films. Model catalyst surfaces were prepared by depositing submonolayer quantities of Au on the films and characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. From X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, a weak interaction between the Au and the TiO₂ substrate was found. At 100 K CO adsorption occurred on both the TiO₂ film and on the Au nanoparticles. CO desorbed from the Au particles with activation energies between 53 and 65 kJ/mol, depending on the Au coverage. If the Au deposit was annealed to 770 K prior to CO exposure, the CO adsorption energy decreased significantly. STM measurements revealed that the Au particles grow upon annealing, but are not encapsulated by TiO_x suboxides. The higher CO adsorption energy observed for smaller Au coverages and before annealing is attributed to a significantly stronger interaction of CO with mono- and bilayer Au islands, while for higher particles, the adsorption energy becomes more bulk-like. The implications of these effects on the known particle size effects in CO oxidation over supported Au/TiO₂ catalysts are discussed.     

Fabrication and characterization of Au/SiO2 nanocomposite films grown by radio-frequency cosputtering

Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite films were prepared on Si wafers by cosputtering of SiO₂ and gold wires. Au/Si atomic ratios in Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite films were varied from 0.53 to 0.92 by controlling the length of gold wire to study the evolution of the crystallization of gold, the size of Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite particles, and the optical properties of as-deposited Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite films. An X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that Au exists as a metallic phase in the bulk of SiO₂ matrix. Dome-shaped Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite particles and both Au (1 1 1) and (2 0 0) planes were observed in a field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies respectively. With an ultraviolet-visible, absorption peaks of Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite films were observed at 525 nm.     

Structural and optical properties of Au-implanted ZnO films

The structural and luminescence related optical behaviours of Au ion implanted ZnO films grown by magnetic sputtering and their post implantation annealing behaviours in the temperature range of 100-700 °C have been investigated. Optical absorption and transmittance spectra of the films indicate that band edge of Au-implanted ZnO has shifted to high energy range and optical band gap has increased, because the sharp difference of thermal expansion induces the lattice mismatch between ZnO and SiO₂. PL spectra reveal that UV and visible luminescence bands of ZnO films can be improved after thermal annealing due to recovery of defects and Au ions incorporation. Importantly, green luminescence band of 530 nm has been only observed in the Au-implanted and subsequently annealed ZnO films and it enhances with the increasing annealing temperature, which can be related to Au atoms or clusters in ZnO films. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements reveal that the Au⁰ is dominant state in Au implanted and annealed ZnO films. Possible mechanisms, such as optical transitions of Au atoms or clusters and deep level luminescence of ZnO, have been proposed for green emission.     

Nickel-iron-gold magnetic films

Ni-Fe-Au films can be made by vacuum evaporation from a single melt since Au has an evaporation rate comparable to that of Ni and Fe. In films 400 Å thick the addition of Au does not changeH _c , butH _k increases 0·1 Oe per 1% Au until 10% Au is reached and then remains constant for Au percentages up to 26%. The change ofH _k with substrate deposition temperature is about the same as for Ni-Fe films (–0·01 Oe/°C). Films with 8% Au have the same skew as Ni-Fe films when made at a substrate temperature of 300 °C, but for Ni-Fe-Au films the change of skew with substrate temperature is about one fourth that of Ni-Fe films. The small area dispersion is reduced by a factor of 2 to 3 for Au additions of 4 to 26 percent.     

Plasma-activated core-shell gold nanoparticle films with enhanced catalytic properties

Catalytically active gold nanoparticle films have been prepared from core-shell nanoparticles by plasma-activation and characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Methane can be selectively oxidized into formic acid with an O₂–H₂ mixture in a catalytic wall reactor functionalized with plasma-activated gold nanoparticle films containing well-defined Au particles of about 3.5 nm in diameter. No catalytic activity was recorded over gold nanoparticle films prepared by thermal decomposition of core-shell nanoparticles due to particle agglomeration.     

In situ photoemission study of the contact formation of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 with Cu and Au

The contact formation of (Ba,Sr)TiO₃ thin films and SrTiO₃ single crystals with Cu and Au have been studied using X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy with in situ sample preparation. During metal deposition a partial reduction of the substrate occurs. The Fermi level at the interface is found to be close to the conduction band minimum, indicating small Schottky barrier heights (< 0.2 eV).     

金属纳米团簇复合薄膜Au/BaTiO3与Fe/BaTiO3的PLD制备及其光吸收特征

用脉冲激光沉积技术制备了掺杂纳米金属颗粒Au或Fe的BaTiO₃复合薄膜.用透射电子显微镜和x射线光电子能谱表征了金属颗粒的形态和化学态.330—800nm范围的吸收谱研究表明，掺Au颗粒的BaTiO₃薄膜在580nm附近有一个明显的共振吸收峰，而掺Fe颗粒的BaTiO₃薄膜没有这样的吸收峰.用Mie散射理论对结果进行了分析. 关键词： 复合薄膜 金属颗粒 脉冲激光沉积 吸收谱     

Deposition and fabrication of alkanethiolate gold nanocluster films on TiO2(1 1 0) and the effects of plasma etching

Deposition and fabrication of films of Au nanoclusters protected by alkanethiolate ligands are attempted on a TiO₂(1 1 0) surface and the structures of films are observed by a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). Effects of oxygen and hydrogen-plasma etching in addition to UV irradiation on the structure and chemical composition of the films are also investigated by using STM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Alkanethiolate Au nanoclusters are produced using a modified Brust synthesis method and their LB films are dip-coated on TiO₂(1 1 0). Alkanethiolate Au nanoclusters are weakly bound to the substrate and can be manipulated with an STM tip. Net-like structures of alkanethiolate Au nanoclusters are formed by a strong blast of air. Oxygen-plasma etching removes alkanethiolate ligands and simultaneously oxidizes Au clusters. At room temperature, prolonged oxygen-plasma etching causes agglomeration of Au nanoclusters. UV irradiation removes ligands partly, which makes Au nanoclusters less mobile. The net-like structure of alkanethiolate Au clusters produced by a blast of air is retained after oxygen and hydrogen-plasma etching.     

Substrate-induced spin-orbit splitting of quantum-well and interface states in Au,Ag, and Cu layers of different thicknesses on W(110) and Mo(110) surfaces

The substrate-induced spin-orbit splitting of interface and quantum-well states formed in Au, Ag, and Cu layers on W(110) and Mo(110) surfaces has been revealed using angle- and spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. It has been shown that the magnitude of the splitting depends noticeably on the atomic number of the substrate material and is markedly larger for layers of these metals on W(110), i.e., on the surface of a metal with a larger atomic number (Z _W = 74), than on the surface of Mo(110), i.e., an element with a smaller atomic number (Z _Mo = 42), while depending only weakly on the atomic number of the adsorbed metal. Measurements of the dispersion of the formed quantum-well states have shown that the substrate-induced spin-orbit splitting increases with increasing parallel component of the photoelectron momentum (which correlates with the Rashba model) for all thicknesses of deposited films (up to 10 ML). The magnitude of induced spin-orbit splitting of the interface states evolving in monolayer Au, Ag, and Cu coatings on W(110) and Mo(110) decreases with increasing parallel component of the excited photoelectron momentum.     

Bi底层对FePt薄膜的影响

利用磁控溅射的方法，在玻璃基片上制备了以Bi为底层的FePt薄膜，经不同温度真空热处理得到L1₀-FePt薄膜.研究了Bi做底层对FePt薄膜的有序化温度及矫顽力H_c的影响.实验结果表明：以Bi做底层的FePt薄膜在350℃实现低温有序，同时其H_c也有大幅度提高，并且可以在更大成分范围内获得H_c较高的L1₀-FePt薄膜.利用X射线光电子能谱研究了薄膜中Bi原子的分布情况，利用X射线衍射研究了薄膜的晶体学结构变化.结果表明,Bi底层在退火过程中的扩散促进了FePt薄膜有序度的升高. 关键词： 0-FePt薄膜')" href="#">L1₀-FePt薄膜 有序化温度 底层 扩散     

The effect of gold on platinum oxidation in homogeneous Au-Pt electrocatalysts

Oxidation of Au-Pt thin films was carried out in ambient air at room temperature and characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The homogeneous films were prepared by RF co-sputtering with concentrations varying from Au₉Pt₉₁ to Au₈₉Pt₁₁ and compared to pure Pt and Au thin films. Spectral deconvolution of the Au 4f and Pt 4f core levels revealed linear peak shifts for both the Au-Au and Pt-Pt bonding components as a function of alloy mixture and metallic component peak asymmetry that remained constant for all alloy stoichiometries. The predominant oxidation products were PtO and PtO₂ and were characterized by stable core level binding energies for all films. A gradual decline in the Pt-O_x products and corresponding levels of elemental oxygen was observed with increasing Au content but was similar in proportion to the metallic Pt components. Based on these results, variations in Pt oxide phases and/or concentration do not appear to contribute to enhanced electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction observed for the intermediate alloy stoichiometries.     

Formation of copper/gold solid solutions by ion beam mixing

The formation of copper/gold solid solutions due to ion beam mixing was studied by Rutherford backscattering, high-voltage electron microscopy and transmission high-energy electron diffraction. Irradiation of multilayered Cu/Au thin films were performed with Xe⁺ ions or Ar⁺ ions at room temperature to doses ranging from 5×10¹⁵ to 2.5×10¹⁶ ions/cm² and energies from 100 to 300 keV. The ion beam mixing leads to uniformly mixed metal layers. The grain size of mixed layers is pronounced increase. It was found that Cu/Au solid solutions are formed with different composition in dependence on itinial composition and implantation dose. Cu-rich and Au-rich solid solutions are induced by ion beam mixing at an initial composition Cu _x Au_100–x withx70. In addition to these solid solutions, a solid solution of middle composition Cu₆₀...₄₀Au₄₀...₆₀ is formed for an initial composition withx<70. The kinetics of formation of solid solution is discussed as a function of the initial composition and implantation dose. Post-annealing experiments of mixed Cu₅₀Au₅₀ multilayers lead to lattice transformations and provide a superlattice structure CuAuI of the L1₀-type. With this process of ordering is associated the formation of dislocation loops.     

Swift heavy ion irradiation induced modification of BiFeO3 thin films prepared by sol-gel method

We report the preparation of multiferroic BiFeO₃ thin films on ITO coated glass substrates through sol-gel spin coating method followed by thermal annealing and their modification by swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy studies revealed amorphous nature of the as deposited films. Rhombohedral crystalline phase of BiFeO₃ evolved on annealing the films at 550°C. Both XRD and Raman studies indicated that SHI irradiation by 200 MeV Au ions result in fragmentation of particles and progressive amorphization with increasing irradiation fluence. The average crystallite size estimated from the XRD line width decreased from 38 nm in pristine sample annealed at 550°C to 29 nm on irradiating these films by 200 MeV Au ions at 1 × 10¹¹ ions cm⁻². Complete amorphization of the rhombohedral BiFeO₃ phase occurs at a fluence of 1 × 10¹² ions.cm⁻². Irradiation by another ion (200 MeV Ag) had the similar effect. For both the ions, the electronic energy loss exceeds the threshold electronic energy loss for creation of amorphized latent tracks in BiFeO₃.     

On the nature of ion bombardment-induced phase transformations in films of transition metals

Abstract

Electron diffraction studies have been made of polycrystalline Ni films irradiated with well separated beams of ions of different nature, namely ions of inert (He⁺, Ne⁺, Ar⁺, Kr⁺, Xe⁺) and reactive (N⁺ and O⁺) gases. The Ni films were prepared under vacuum conditions (P? 3·10^?6Pa during evaporation) preventing an appreciable contamination of the films with impurities. The samples were irradiated at T? 300 K with ion beams of energies from 10 to 100 keV in the dose range between 5·10¹⁶ cm^?2 and the value leading to sample destruction.

Irradiation with noble gas ions revealed no phase transitions in the Ni films. A similar result was obtained in irradiation of Fe and Cr films with He⁺ ions. The bombardment of Ni films with reactive gas ions does cause changes in the lattice structure of the samples under study, depending on the nature of the bombarding ions. The N⁺ ion bombardment gives rise to the hcp phase with the lattice parameters typical of the Ni₃N compound, and the O⁺ ion bombardment results in the fcc phase with the NiO-type parameter.

The conclusion is drawn on the chemical origin of the phase transformations in the Ni films under ion bombardment. The necessity of revising the concept about the polymorphous nature of phase transformations induced in the films of transition metals by ion bombardment is substantiated.     

Au:TiO2和Au:Al2O3纳米颗粒复合膜的线性和非线性光学特性

主要从实验和理论两个方面,探讨了不同Au颗粒尺寸和不同基质对Au：TiO₂和Au：Al₂O₃复合膜线性和非线性光学性质的影响.用吸收光谱研究了Au颗粒尺寸和基质与Au复合膜表面等离子体共振带之间的关系;用皮秒Z扫描技术研究了共振和非共振情况下(激发光波长分别为532nm和1064nm),Au颗粒尺寸和基质与复合膜三阶非线性极化率的关系.基于表面等离子体共振理论和局域场增强理论对复合膜进行了分析,得到了不同Au颗粒大小和不同基质时Au复合膜的 关键词： 金属纳米颗粒 复合膜 三阶非线性 表面等离子体共振     

Determination of molecular orientation in ultrathin liquid crystal. films on solid substrates using X-ray absorption spectroscopy

42 H₆₀O₆, HBT) deposited on a (111)-oriented Au single crystal and a polycrystalline indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate has been carried out using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Films of thicknesses between 2 nm and 15 nm were prepared in UHV by evaporation of HBT [which exhibits a discotic liquid crystalline (LC) bulk phase] from a Knudsen cell. Thickness and composition of the HBT films were determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). For the thinnest films with thicknesses in the monolayer regime, the orientational analysis reveals a pronounced orientation of the disc-shaped HBT molecules parallel to the Au surface. For thicker films, a significantly reduced anisotropy is observed with the molecular plane oriented more normal to the Au surface. In the case of the ITO-substrates, no significant differences were observed between different thickn esses and the average orientation of the molecular planes was predominantly normal to the surfaces, as for the thicker films on the Au substrate. Received: 1 March 1997/Accepted: 24 April 1997