Experimental observation of large ramified Au aggregates on melting glass surfaces - art. no. 125405

We report the formation of large ramified gold aggregates after deposition of Au on melting glass surfaces. The growth mechanism of the aggregates is traced to a two-stage process, the first of which involves nucleation and g rowth of compact Au clusters. The average diameter of the clusters is aroun d 1.2 mum, which is approximately independent of the deposition rate. In th e subsequent stage, the clusters diffuse randomly on the colloid surface an d the diffusion coefficient is in the range between 10(-7) and 10(-8) cm(2) /s. Finally they aggregate. It is found that the structure of the aggregate s strongly depends on the aggregation time.