Bactericidal effects of Ag nanoparticles immobilized on surface of SiO2 thin film with high concentration

Bactericidal activity of high concentration Ag nanoparticles immobilized on surface of an aqueous sol–gel silica thin film was investigated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Size of the surface nanoparticles was estimated in the range of 35–80 nm by using atomic force microscopy. Due to accumulation of the silver nanoparticles at near the surface (at depth of 6 nm and about 40 times greater than the silver concentration in the sol), the synthesized Ag–SiO₂ thin film (with area of 10 mm²) presented strong antibacterial activities against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria with relative rate of reduction of the viable bacteria of 1.05 and 0.73 h⁻¹ for initial concentration of about 10⁵ cfu/ml, respectively. In addition, the dominant mechanism of silver release in long times was determined based on water diffusion in surface pores of the silica film, unlike the usual diffusion of water on the surface of silver-based bulk materials. Therefore, the Ag nanoparticles embedded near the surface of the SiO₂ thin film can be utilized in various antibacterial applications with a strong and long life activity.     

Cerium oxide nanoparticles protect primary mouse bone marrow stromal cells from apoptosis induced by oxidative stress

The sintering of a silver (Ag) nanoparticle film by laser beam irradiation was studied using a CW DPSS laser. The laser sintering of the Ag nanoparticle thin film gave a transparent conductive film with a thickness of ca. 10 nm, whereas a thin film sintered by conventional heat treatment using an electronic furnace was an insulator because of the formation of isolated silver grains during the slow heating process. The laser sintering of the Ag nanoparticle thin film gave a unique conductive network structure due to the rapid heating and quenching process caused by laser beam scanning. The influences of the laser sintering conditions such as laser scan speed on the conductivity and the transparency were studied. With the increase of scan speed from 0.50 to 5.00 mm/s, the surface resistivity remarkably decreased from 4.45 × 10⁸ to 6.30 Ω/sq. The addition of copper (Cu) nanoparticles to silver thin film was also studied to improve the homogeneity of the film and the conductivity due to the interaction between the oxidized surface of Cu nanoparticle and a glass substrate. By adding 5 wt% Cu nanoparticles to the Ag thin film, the surface resistivity improved to 2.40 Ω/sq.     

Ultra-smooth metal surfaces generated by pressure-induced surface deformation of thin metal films

We present a mechanical pressing technique for generating ultra-smooth surfaces on thin metal films by flattening the bumps, asperities, rough grains and spikes of a freshly vacuum deposited metal film. The method was implemented by varying the applied pressure from 100 MPa to 600 MPa on an e-beam evaporated silver film of thickness 1000 Å deposited on double-polished (100)-oriented silicon surfaces, resulting in a varying degree of film smoothness. The surface morphology of the thin film was studied using atomic force microscopy. Notably, at a pressure of ～600 MPa an initial silver surface with 13-nm RMS roughness was plastically deformed and transformed to an ultra-flat plane with better than 0.1 nm RMS. Our demonstration with the e-beam evaporated silver thin film exhibits the potential for applications in decreasing the scattering-induced losses in optical metamaterials, plasmonic nanodevices and electrical shorts in molecular-scale electronic devices.     

Dependence of the Amplification of Giant Raman Scattering and Fluorescence on the Distance between an Adsorbed Molecule and a Metal Surface

We have studied the effect of the long-range amplification of secondary radiation of the molecules of oxazine 1 adsorbed on the surface of thin silver film covered by 1–7 Langmuir monolayers of stearic acid. We show that the intensity of the giant Raman scattering (GRS) changes proportionally to r ^–1 with removal of a molecule from the surface of a metal, which is in good agreement with the theory. The distances over which the strength of the electric field enhanced by the surface makes a substantial contribution to the processes mentioned are of the order of 10 nm.     

样品表面银膜的粗糙度对钛酸钡微球成像性能的影响

研究了样品表面镀有不同表面粗糙度的银膜对钛酸钡（BaTiO₃ glass,BTG）微球成像效果的影响,发现当银膜表面的粗糙度（RMS）从3.23 nm增大到6.80 nm时,用直径为15 μm的BTG微球观察直径为250和580 nm的微球阵列,样品的成像范围增大.另外,BTG微球还可以清晰分辨原本不可分辨的直径为200 nm的微球阵列.结果表明,粗糙银膜引起的散射作用和表面等离激元波的局域场增强效应,使得更多物体的高频信息耦合进微球,提高了微球成像的分辨率和成像范围.     

温度变化对金属Ag膜反射镜偏振特性的影响研究

空间遥感应用中的光学有效载荷对系统偏振控制提出了越来越高的要求,作为常用的宽光谱反射镜,金属银(Ag)膜反射镜的偏振特性随着环境温度的改变而变化。本文设计并制备了低偏振灵敏度的Ag膜反射镜,研究了反射镜在45°和60°入射角下,从室温25℃升温到150℃时的偏振特性变化和反射光谱变化情况。随着温度的升高,Ag膜的折射率在350~1 200 nm波长范围内有所增加;Ag膜反射镜的反射光中s和p光的相位差Δ在350~600 nm波长范围内减小,在600~650 nm波长范围内基本稳定,在650~1 200 nm波长范围内增大。温度上升到125℃时,Ag膜和反射镜表面形貌发生改变,增加了表面散射和吸收,导致350~900 nm波段反射率降低,在波长350 nm附近的降低约25%。     

Laser-induced patterning of silver thin films using interference effects

Submicron patterning of the spatial arrangement of spherical silver nanoparticles on a substrate is reported. The patterned samples were obtained by irradiating a thin silver film in the quasipercolated state with short laser pulses. Light reached the sample through a slit on a highly reflecting silicon mask placed parallel to the surface of the sample and was reflected between the sample and the inner face of the mask. The incident and reflected light interfered on the sample’s surface creating a complicated pattern of thin lines along which spherical-shaped silver nano-particles are concentrated. We provide a simple model to explain the observed patterns and briefly discuss how could one control the shape and thickness of the patterned lines of nanoparticles.     

Plasmonic coupling from silver nanoparticle dimer array mediating surface plasmon resonant enhancement on the thin silver film

We investigate the optical absorption spectrum of a periodic array of silver nanoparticle dimer on a thin silver film using multiple-scattering formalism. Surface plasmon polariton mediated from silver nanoparticle dimer array is excited and enhanced by about four times compared with that from monomer array. This enhancement results from the coupling between the two nanoparticles’ plasmons of symmetry mode and anti-symmetry mode. We also illustrate the distance-dependent nanoparticle plasmonic coupling modes based on the polarized charge distribution in dimer geometry. The proposed silver nanoparticle dimer array can be used to enhance surface spectroscopy.     

Application of the Green's function method to lattice vibrations in thin films

The Green's function method is used to investigate the lattice vibrations in a simple cubic thin film with nearest neighbour interactions. Appropriate Green's functions for the study of the surface waves for (001) and (011) orientations of the surface are determined. For a thin film with two parallel (001) free surfaces the atomic force tensors at the surface are modified in order to satisfy the rotational invariance condition. The surface waves are determined and a detailed discussion is made for the long wave-length limit k_y = 0 and k_x ? 1. For a given k_x there is a critical thickness below which only an antisymmetrical solution can exist. For the (011) orientation only the case of a single free surface is discussed.     

SERS characterization of metallic silver nanoparticle self‐assembly within thin films

Clusters of silver nanoparticles are generated by the thermally initiated reduction of silver carboxylates (long‐chain fatty acids) in the thin polymer films. The size, shape, and aggregation of these nanoparticles are affected by the reduction reaction in the presence of capping agents. In order to understand the mechanism(s) controlling the silver structure formation, it is essential to understand the surface coordination chemistry occurring during this process. We now report the first application of surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to directly characterize adsorbates on the surfaces of silver nanoparticles within a thin film imaging construction containing multiple components. In addition, SERS investigation of model silver substrates was used to confirm the identify of specific adsorbates of silver complexes. This is a powerful tool for revealing the chemistry involved with the control of silver nanoparticle aggregation during thermally induced metallic silver formation within thin films. Both the catechol‐reducing agent and the phthalazinone (PAZ) particle aggregation agent are observed on the metallic silver surface at the initial particle formation and during its crystal growth. However, careful attention to excitation wavelength is required in order to observe all the surface species. PAZ appears to be more effective at stabilizing individual silver particles than other aggregation agents investigated. An understanding of the roles of the aggregation/reducing agents in the growth and aggregation of silver nanoparticles is important for preparing different types of silver particles for specific applications including silver‐based thermal imaging systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Formation of silver thin films and nanoparticles inside and on the surface of silver-containing glasses by electron irradiation

It is shown experimentally that irradiation of silver-ion-containing glasses by 5–7-keV electrons with doses of 20–50 mC/cm² results in the formation of a silver thin film and nanoparticles on the surface. If the concentration of silver ions in the glass is high, a subsurface film arises as well. These effects are due to a negative space charge region forming under the surface. As a result, silver ions migrate in the resulting field from the volume of the glass toward the negative space charge region and the surface and thermalized electrons reduce the ions to neutral atoms.     

A tem study of the crystallization behavior in amorphous vacuum condensed Er—Cu thin films

The isothermal crystallization of amorphous, vacuum condensed Er_0.6Cu_0.4 thin films was investigated in situ by transmission electron microscopy. Heterogeneous nucleation of ErCu crystallites was observed to occur on the thin rare-earth oxide layer which is inevitably formed on the external surface of the thin film exposed to the ambient atmosphere. The crystalline particles exhibited preferential growth in the direction parallel to the surface of the film. The crystallization process is interface controlled and characterized by a constant nucleation and constant growth rate. The kinetics of transformation were anslyzed in terms of Avrami's equation. The kinetic exponent n in Avrami's equation is equal to 2.9 in good agreement with the theoretical value for two-dimensional, interface-controlled growth. The experimental date allowed to derive the values of ΔE = 581 kJ.mole^?1 for the overall activation energy of the crystallization reaction, Δ_cr = 151 kJ.mole^?1 for the energy of critical nucleus formation and ΔE_m = 143 kJ.mole^?1 for the activation energy of atomic motion.     

Synthesis and characterization of silver-polypyrrole film composite

In this work, we report the chemical polymerization of pyrrole to obtain thin film of polypyrrole (PPy) hydrochloride deposited onto the electrode of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The film in the base form was exposed to a solution of AgNO₃. Electroless reduction for silver ions by the PPy film took place and silver particles were adsorbed onto the film surface. The silver particles content at the PPy films were analyzed by QCM and the results showed that the concentrations of silver uptakes increase as the original AgNO₃ solution increases. The morphology of the surface of the PPy film and the silver-PPy film composite were studied by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). They showed that the obtained silver particles have spherical, cubic and tetrahedral structures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the structure of the powder composite. This work reveals the capability of PPy film coating on QCM in sensing and removing silver from several environmental samples.     

纳米银导电膜的制备及其光谱学分析

为了以温和的化学反应制备纳米银导电膜,在PET薄膜上涂布柠檬酸银乳液,并用抗坏血酸(Vc)还原,用红外光谱仪、紫外-可见光分光光度计、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜、原子力显微镜等,研究柠檬酸银乳液及其还原涂层的微观形貌、晶体结构和导电性能。发现PVP保护的柠檬酸银乳液粒径分布在60～150 nm。银膜的UV-Vis吸收峰位于430 nm,表明其具有纳米结构。XRD分析表明,还原后的涂层形成了不完整的银晶体,水洗比乙醇处理更能促进柠檬酸银的彻底还原和银膜的晶型完善,降低银膜表面电阻。     

A new approach to the calculation of tight-binding surface density of states in thin films

We present a new approach to the calculation of planar electronic density of states of thin films within the tight-binding scheme. The diagonal elements of the electronic Green's function are obtained by an iteration procedure derived from the transfer-matrix approach for semi-infinite crystals. An application is made to the study of the (100) planes of a model transition metal film with a simple cubic structure.     

Explicit calculation of a tricritical point in a Pauli paramagnetically limited superconductor

We extend the Maki-Tsuneto Green's function formulation for the critical magnetic field vs temperature of a Pauli paramagnetically limited thin film superconductor to include the field conjugate to the order parameter and show the system displays a tricritical point. We present numerical calculations within the mean field theory in the neighborhood of the tricritical point and describe an explicit experimental arrangement for producing an adjustable staggered field.     

Raman Spectroscopic Study of the Orientation of Polystyrene in a Stretched Film and in an Adsorbed Film

Abstract

Polarized Raman scattering spectra and surface enhanced Raman scattering spectra have been recorded from a thin film of a stretched polystyrene and from an adsorbed thin layer of polystyrene on silver surface, respectively. Comparison of intensities of the Raman line near 786 cm^?1 indicates that the aromatic rings are perpendicular to the surface in polystyrene which deposited onto silver from a very dilute solution.     

Flow regulation in microchannels via electrical alteration of surface properties

The development of microfluidic (lab-on-a-chip) technology requires local control of fluid flow in the microchannels. Conventional microvalve approaches involve moving parts and/or complicated fabrication techniques, which makes them unreliable and prevents inexpensive integration in microanalytical systems. We have developed a simple low cost method for regulating fluid flow in microchannels that is compatible with existing microfabrication techniques and eliminates the need for moving parts. We use an electrical signal to stimulate silver deposition on a thin solid electrolyte layer in a small region of a microchannel. Since fluid flow is dominated by the nature of the channel surface, the electrodeposited silver changes the fluid–surface interaction and the effect can be used to control the movement of the fluid. Increases in the contact angles of both water and methanol, by 20 and 27 respectively, have been demonstrated. Such changes in hydrophobicity are sufficient to retard or stop capillary or external pressure-driven fluid flow in typical microchannels.     

A study of the metal-ionic conductor interface capacitances. II. Capacitance versus surface potential

Using the experimental method described in the preceding paper to determine the interface capacitances, the influence of surface potential value on these capacitances is analysed on thin film samples elaborated with gold as electrodes and lead fluoride as ionic conductor. The experimental capacitance-surface potential curve is compared to the theoretical curve calculated from Poisson's equation and supposing a Boltzmann distribution of the ionic carriers. The results seem to show the presence of a saturation region obtained for negative values of the surface potential, and corresponding to a strong accumulation of fluorine vacancies.     

Ageing of plasma-mediated coatings with embedded silver nanoparticles on stainless steel: An XPS and ToF-SIMS investigation

Nanocomposite thin films (∼170 nm), composed of silver nanoparticles enclosed in an organosilicon matrix, were deposited onto stainless steel, with the aim of preventing biofilm formation. The film deposition was carried out under cold plasma conditions, combining radiofrequency (RF) glow discharge fed with argon and hexamethyldisiloxane and simultaneous silver sputtering. XPS and ToF-SIMS were used to characterize Ag-organosilicon films in native form and after ageing in saline solution (NaCl 0.15 M), in order to further correlate their lifetime with their anti-fouling properties. Two coatings with significantly different silver contents (7.5% and 20.3%) were tested. Surface analysis confirmed the presence of metallic silver in the pristine coating and revealed significant modifications after immersion in the saline solution. Two different ageing mechanisms were observed, depending on the initial silver concentration in the film. For the sample exhibiting the low silver content (7.5%), the metal amount decreased at the surface in contact with the solution, due to the release of silver from the coating. As a result, after a 2-day exposure, silver nanoparticles located at the extreme surface were entirely released, whereas silver is still present in the inner part of the film. The coating thickness was not modified during ageing. In contrast, for the high silver content film (20.3%), the thickness decreased with immersion time, due to significant silver release and matrix erosion, assigned to a percolation-like effect. However, after 18 days of immersion, the delamination process stopped and a thin strongly bounded layer remained on the stainless steel surface.