Silver nanoparticles dispersed in polyimide thin film matrix

A new metallorganic silver precursor, Ag(hfa)tetraglyme, has-been used to p roduce silver aggregates into polymeric thin film matrices by thermal reduc tion in a temperature range between 200 degrees C and 300 degrees C. Here w e present a characterization of the metal aggregates into polyimide thin fi lms (0.1-1 mu m). The size of the metallic particles has been measured by t ransmission electron microscopy (TEM). A narrow particles size distribution centered around a radius value of similar to 16 nm has been observed. X-ra y diffraction (XRD) performed on this sample confirms the presence of metal lic silver. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been used to determi ne the elemental composition at the particle surface. A partial oxidation o f the metal particles, probably due to the air contamination or to interact ion with oxygen of the polymeric matrix, has been observed.