Abstract
We report the behavior of Au nanoparticles anchored onto a Si(111) substrate and the evolution of the combined structure with annealing and oxidation. Au nanoparticles, formed by annealing a Au film, appear to "float" upon a growing layer of SiO2 during oxidation at high temperature, yet they also tend to become partially encapsulated by the growing silica layers. It is proposed that this occurs largely because of the differential growth rates of the silica layer on the silicon substrate between the particles and below the particles due to limited access of oxygen to the latter. This in turn is due to a combination of blockage of oxygen adsorption by the Au and limited oxygen diffusion under the gold. We think that such behavior is likely to be seen for other metal-semiconductor systems.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 21577-21582 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Physical Chemistry C |
Volume | 117 |
Issue number | 41 |
Early online date | 20 Sept 2013 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 17 Oct 2013 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Surfaces, Coatings and Films
- Energy(all)