THE EFFECT OF VARIOUS SILICATE-GLASS MATRIXES ON GOLD-NANOPARTICLE FORMATION

Abstract

Ion implantation of Au+ with energy of 1.7 MeV and a fluence of 1 x 1016 ions.cm-2 along with post-implantation annealing were used to synthesize metal nanoparticles in various types of silicate glasses. The objective of the work was the investigation of the effect of the host glass matrix on the principle properties of the nanoparticles. The prepared samples were characterized in terms of their chemical composition and the nucleation of gold nanoparticles. The largest nanoparticles having a radius of 1-25 nm and an irregular shape were detected in the glass BK7 containing boron trioxide in its structure. On the other hand, small nanoparticles (1-5 nm) with a spherical shape were found in glass with a structure similar to silica. The shape, size and distribution of the nanoparticles are strongly influenced by the divergence of the annealing temperature from the transformation temperature of the particular glass

Keywords

• Glasses
• Nano particles
• Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
• Ion implantation