Electrochemical deposition of Ag nanoparticles on ITO-coated glass: effect of different cyclic voltammetry scan rates on Ag deposition

Abstract

This work aims to investigate the effect of different cyclic voltammetry scan rates on silver nanoparticles deposition on ITO-coated glass aiming to obtain improve its optical and electrical properties. The deposition was evaluated using different physical, chemical and optical characterization techniques, such as SEM, XRD, FTIR, UV–visible and electrochemical tests. Cyclic voltammetry was used to measure the Ag deposition at two different scan rates (20 CV at 10 mV/s and 100 CV at 30 mV/s). The characterization results have confirmed the formation of a homogeneous crystal layer of silver on ITO, which exhibited high transmittance in the visible light region. According to the cyclic voltammetry measurements, the outer spheres of the Ag NPs associated with the redox reaction illustrate the typical reduction and oxidation waves of Ag in the range of (−100 to +700) mV. The quantification using Cyclic voltammetry measurements has shown that the Ag nanoparticles deposition on ITO thin films are inversely proportional to the scan rates; in other words, higher deposition is obtained at lower scan rates.