Deposition of Au and ZnO nanoparticles from concentrated colloidal dispersions in ethanol on glass, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene and silicone substrates for manufacturing simple and combined coatings

Abstract

The deposition of coatings of Au and ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) on glass, semiconductor silicon, polyethylene terephthalate, and polystyrene substrates was studied. Deposition was carried out using relatively concentrated dispersions of particles in ethanol (approximately 5–10 mM Au, ZnO), which showed limited time resistance to coagulation and sedimentation, but returned to their original dispersed state by ultrasonic treatment before each cycle of deposition of NPs. The NPs of Au and ZnO were stabilized by abietate and acetate ions, respectively. Simple coatings from Au or ZnO NPs and a combined coating from a mixture of Au and ZnO NPs, as well as two-layer combined coatings with alternating layers of Au/ZnO and ZnO/Au NPs, were obtained by drop casting and the proposed method of deposition from the capillary layer of the dispersion with the use of a linker. The formation of coatings on transparent substrates was studied by means of UV–Vis spectroscopy. Coatings were characterized by SEM, EDX, XRD, PL, UV–Vis and surface resistance methods. The effect of heat treatment on coatings characteristics was tested.