Preparing ripening-suppressed metallic nanoparticles using a laser-irradiated carbon nanotube sacrificial layer

Abstract

Supported metallic nanoparticles on a substrate has wide applications in catalysis, sensors and biological detection, where small particle size and uniform distribution are desired. Among the various preparation methods, thermal-induced nanofilm dewetting is a cost-efficient approach to obtain such supported nanoparticles. However, the nanoparticle size always grows out of control in dewetting because of unavoidable ripening at an elevated temperature. Herein, a laser-irradiated single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) film is skillfully introduced as a sacrificial layer in the process of Nickel (Ni) nanofilm dewetting, which can suppress particle ripening and is easy to be removed. Finally, uniform-distributed and small Ni nanoparticle array is achieved, showing a good catalytic effect in the chemical reaction of carbon nanotube etching. In principle, this sacrificial layer method also applies to preparing other ferromagnetic metallic nanoparticles such as Fe and Co, which will largely expand its application scope.