Synthesis and microstructure investigation of heterogeneous metal-plasma polymer Ag/HMDSO nanoparticles

Metal-polymer nanocomposites have gained increasing attention due to the wide potential applications field. Synthesis of nanoparticles from the gas phase is an intensively studied alternative to the chemical preparation methods. We present a one-step procedure that combines magnetron-based gas aggregation cluster source of silver nanoparticles and simultaneous plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO). The key parameter of the process, significantly influencing the morphology and microstructure of studied nanoparticles, was found to be the amount of HMDSO added to the deposition chamber as witnessed by small angle X-ray scattering and X-ray diffraction methods combined with transmission electron microscopy and UV–Vis spectrophotometry. The presence of HMDSO in the chamber leads to changes in the size distribution and also in the architecture of prepared nanoparticles. The increasing amount of HMDSO induces the formation of individual core-shell nanoparticles, chains of core-shell nanoparticles, and for the highest concentration of HMDSO, the synthesis of multi-core-shell nanoparticles. The size of crystallites in the silver cores of nanoparticles decreases with addition of HMDSO, which prevents further aggregation.