Electrical properties, structure, and surface morphology of poly(p-xylylene)–silver nanocomposites synthesized by low-temperature vapor deposition polymerization

• Published in: Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Vol. 110; no. 2; pp. 413 - 422
• Main Authors: Streltsov, Dmitry R., Mailyan, Karen A., Gusev, Alexey V., Ryzhikov, Ilya A., Erina, Natalia A., Su, Chanmin, Pebalk, Andrey V., Ozerin, Sergei A., Chvalun, Sergei N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.02.2013; Springer
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Machines; Manufacturing; Nanotechnology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Processes; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films; Silver Nanoparticles; Silver Concentration; Electrical Behavior; Silver Content; Nanomechanical Property
• ISSN: 0947-8396; 1432-0630
• DOI: 10.1007/s00339-012-7220-z

The crystalline structure, surface morphology, electrical, and optical properties of thin films of nanocomposites consisting of silver nanoparticles embedded in poly( p -xylylene) matrix prepared by low-temperature vapor deposition polymerization were studied. Depending on the filler content, the average size of silver nanoparticles varied from 2 to 5 nm for nanocomposites with 2 and 12 vol.% of silver, correspondingly. The optical adsorption in the visible region due to surface plasmon resonance also exhibited a clear correlation from silver content, revealing a red shift of the adsorption peak with the increase of the metal concentration. The temperature dependences of the dc resistance of pure p -xylylene condensate and p -xylylene–silver cocondensates during polymerization as well as temperature dependences of the formed poly( p -xylylene)–silver nanocomposites were examined. The observed variation of the temperature dependences of electrical resistance as a function of silver concentration are attributed to different conduction mechanisms and correlated with the structure of the composites. The wide-angle X-ray scattering and AFM measurements consistently show a strong effect of silver content on the nanocomposite structure. The evolution of the size of silver nanoparticles by thermal annealing was demonstrated.