Morphology of ultrathin gold and copper coatings thermally evaporated on polydimethylsiloxane elastomers: From isolated nanoparticles to continuous coatings

equivalent metal thickness) thermally evaporated on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Results are discussed on the basis of transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Gold is demonstrated to grow in the form of isolated particles following a Volmer-Weber growth mode, whereas copper mor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThin solid films Vol. 781
Main Authors Schweitzer, Julie, Schrodj, Gautier, Florentin, Alban, Denys, Emmanuel, Vidal, Loic, David, Thierry, Rouillard, François, Gall, Florence Bally-Le, Spano, Fabrizio, Roucoules, Vincent, Vonna, Laurent
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier 01.09.2023
Subjects
Chemical Sciences
Material chemistry
Gold
Elastomer
Physical vapor deposition
Copper
Thin film
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Summary:equivalent metal thickness) thermally evaporated on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Results are discussed on the basis of transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Gold is demonstrated to grow in the form of isolated particles following a Volmer-Weber growth mode, whereas copper more likely grows in the form of a continuous film, following a Stranski–Krastanov growth mode. Our results demonstrate a negligible role of the PDMS elastic modulus (between 0.5 and 2.5 MPa) in the gold and copper coatings morphology respectively. However, significant morphological changes are observed when the metals are thermally evaporated on a PDMS substrate of extremely higher surface elastic modulus obtained after O2 plasma exposure.
ISSN:0040-6090
DOI:10.1016/j.tsf.2023.139972