Direct electrodeposition of various metal nanocrystals on silicon oxide dielectric layer and insights into electrochemical behavior

Abstract

AbstractElectrochemistry of thermally grown silicon oxide can address many interesting features and it was further embellished by the development of defective 200 nm thermal oxide grown on highly n‐doped silicon (n+‐Si/SiO2). However, there are still space to uncover underlying conduction mechanism and applications, specifically for defective 200 nm n+‐Si/SiO2 electrode. These could be addressed by direct electrodeposition, so various kinds of metal nanocrystals, Fe, Cr, Ir, Ru, Co, Pd, Cu, Ni, and Ag, were electrodeposited on it. Their shapes were characterized by SEM and electrodeposited amounts were quantified by ICP‐MS. Furthermore, voltammetry was conducted to provide insights into the direct electrodeposition mechanism of either H atom mediated electrochemistry or electron transfer through percolation paths. This work can further provide intuition toward the development of metal‐supported catalysts.