Structural characterization of electric-field assisted dip-coating of gold nanoparticles on silicon

Abstract

We report the effect of applying an electric field on the surface coverage of 40nm gold colloidal nanoparticles on silicon wafer using dip-coating and electrochemical cell set up. By applying electric field during the dip-coating of silicon wafer in a solution of gold nano particles (GNP) the surface coverage increased by 10% when the electric field varied from 5V/cm to 25V/cm at fixed deposition time of 90s. Ultra High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (HRSEM) images shows that the particle agglomeration becomes more noticeable at higher electric field and as the deposition time increases from 90 s to 20 min a thin film of gold is achieved. Moreover, the results are discussed in terms of chemical bonding, electrostatic force and electrophoretic mobility of Au nano particles during the electric field enhanced deposition on the Si surface. Applied voltage, time of dipping, concentration of the aqueous solution, and particles zeta potential are all can be controlled to enhance the uniformity and particles profile on the silicon surface.