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Alotabi AS, Yin Y, Redaa A, Tesana S, Metha GF, Andersson GG. Effect of TiO 2 Film Thickness on the Stability of Au 9 Clusters with a CrO x Layer. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:3218. [PMID: 36145007 PMCID: PMC9506353 DOI: 10.3390/nano12183218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering allows the fabrication of TiO2 films with high purity, reliable control of film thickness, and uniform morphology. In the present study, the change in surface roughness upon heating two different thicknesses of RF sputter-deposited TiO2 films was investigated. As a measure of the process of the change in surface morphology, chemically -synthesised phosphine-protected Au9 clusters covered by a photodeposited CrOx layer were used as a probe. Subsequent to the deposition of the Au9 clusters and the CrOx layer, samples were heated to 200 ℃ to remove the triphenylphosphine ligands from the Au9 cluster. After heating, the thick TiO2 film was found to be mobile, in contrast to the thin TiO2 film. The influence of the mobility of the TiO2 films on the Au9 clusters was investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that the high mobility of the thick TiO2 film after heating leads to a significant agglomeration of the Au9 clusters, even when protected by the CrOx layer. The thin TiO2 film has a much lower mobility when being heated, resulting in only minor agglomeration of the Au9 clusters covered with the CrOx layer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdulrahman S. Alotabi
- Flinders Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Arts in Baljurashi, Albaha University, Baljurashi 65655, Saudi Arabia
- Flinders Microscopy and Microanalysis, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia
| | - Yanting Yin
- Flinders Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia
- Flinders Microscopy and Microanalysis, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia
| | - Ahmad Redaa
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
- Faculty of Earth Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Siriluck Tesana
- The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand
- National Isotope Centre, GNS Science, Lower Hutt 5010, New Zealand
| | - Gregory F. Metha
- Department of Chemistry, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
| | - Gunther G. Andersson
- Flinders Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia
- Flinders Microscopy and Microanalysis, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia
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