Size variation and optical absorption of sol-gel Ag nanoparticles doped SiO2 thin film

In this research, we have focused on the formation of Ag nanoparticles dispersed in SiO₂ matrix using sol-gel method. The influences of the metal concentration on the size variation of Ag nanoparticles and the size effect on the surface plasmon absorption have been studied. Sol-gel silica thin films containing Ag particles were synthesized by dip-coating on soda-lime glasses. The molar ratio of Ag / Si was chosen from 0.2% to 8%. All films were dried in air at 100 °C for 1 h. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the Ag / Si ratios in the prepared films have been measured. In addition, it was shown that the prepared matrix was a stoichiometric composition as SiO₂, and the synthesized nanoparticles were mainly in the metallic state. Size and distribution of the nanoparticles were measured by high resolution scanning as well as transmission electron microscopy and also atomic force microscopy analyses for low and high Ag concentrations, respectively. We have found that by decreasing the Ag / Si ratio from 8 to 0.2 mol%, the particle size reduces from 95 to 4 nm with a nearly spherical shape. UV-visible spectrophotometry showed that the size reduction of the Ag nanoparticles for the Ag / Si molar ratios ranging from 8 to 0.2 mol% leads to an intensity reduction of the absorption peak and a blue shift from 460 to 410 nm.