Silver Vapor Research Articles

Silver Vapor Supersonic Jets: Expansion Dynamics, Cluster Formation, and Film Deposition.

Supersonic jets of metal vapors with carrier gas are promising for producing nanostructured metal films at relatively low source temperatures and high deposition rates. However, the effects of the carrier gas on the jet composition and expansion dynamics, as well as on film properties, remain virtually unexplored. In this work, the free-jet expansion of a mixture of silver vapor with helium in a rarefied regime at an initial temperature of 1373 K is investigated through mass spectrometry and direct-simulation Monte Carlo methods. Introducing the carrier gas into the source is found to result in a transition from a collisionless to a collision-dominated expansion regime and dramatic changes in the Ag jet, which becomes denser, faster, and more forward-directed. The changes are shown to be favorable for the formation of small Ag clusters and film deposition. At a fairly high helium flow, silver Ag2 dimers are observed in the jet, both in the experiment and the simulations, with a mole fraction reaching 0.1%. The terminal velocities of silver atoms and dimers are nearly identical, indicating that the clusters are likely formed due to the condensation of silver vapor in the expanding jet. A high potential of supersonic Ag-He jets for the deposition of nanostructured silver films is demonstrated. The deposited jet Ag2 dimers appear to serve as nucleation centers and, thus, allow for controlling the size of the produced surface nanostructures.

Investigation of conditions of synthesis of thin films of silver nitride (AgNO3) in a high-frequency low-pressure discharge

The results of studying the characteristics of a low-pressure high-frequency discharge in air (p = 10 Pa) for the synthesis of thin films from silver nitride, due to the ecton sputtering mechanism of a polycrystalline electrode from the compound Ag2S, are presented. For the synthesis of thin films based on the AgNO3 compound, the phenomenon of explosive emission of natural inhomogeneities on the surface of a polycrystalline electrode was used, in which, as a result of the destruction of electrodes from the Ag2S superionic conductor, a silver vapor flow was formed, which, after interaction with a low-density air plasma, condensed in the form of silver nitride on placed near a dielectric substrate. The resulting films can be used in medicine, biotechnology, biomedical engineering, and agriculture.

Theoretical research on vacuum separation of Au−Ag alloy

To provide an accurate prediction of the product component dependence of temperature and pressure in vacuum distillation and give convenient and efficient guidance for the designing of the process parameters of industrial production, according to the molecular interaction volume model (MIVM), the separation coefficient (β) and vapor−liquid equilibrium composition of Au−Ag alloy at different temperatures are calculated. Combined with the vapor−liquid equilibrium (VLE) theory, the VLE phase diagrams, including the temperature−composition (T−x) and pressure−composition (p−x) diagrams of Au−Ag alloy in vacuum distillation are plotted. The triple points and condensation temperatures of gold and silver vapors are calculated as well. The results show that the β decreases and the contents of gold in vapor phase increase with the distillation temperature increasing. Low pressures have positive effect on the separation of Ag and Au. The difference between the condensation temperatures of gold and silver is about 450 K in the pressure range of 1−10 Pa.

Nanostructured silver substrates produced by cluster-assisted gas jet deposition for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

The gas jet deposition (GJD) technique is a very promising method for synthesis of nanostructured films allowing fabrication of uniform thin layers over large areas with high growth rates. In this work, thin silver films of various morphology with the thickness in the range 10–50 nm are produced by the GJD method using a supersonic jet of silver vapor with helium as a carrier gas. The film morphology transformation with increasing thickness is shown to occur from individual nanostructures to a continuous film. The jet is investigated by time-of-flight mass spectrometry and small silver clusters in the deposited flow are observed which are supposed to play a key role in the nanostrtucture formation. The GJD-produced films demonstrate excellent uniformity over a ∼100 cm2 deposited area and exhibit remarkable plasmonic properties. The surface-enhancement Raman scattering (SERS) activity of the films to R6G is investigated and the enhancement factor of about 105 is obtained with the detection limit of 10−8 M R6G. The influence of morphology on plasmonic properties of the films is discussed.

Preparation of a silver nano-tripod structure by a tilting angle deposition technique and its SERS application.

A silver nano-tripod (AgNT) structure with a high-density "hot spots" distribution was fabricated by a tilting angle deposition technique. The electric field simulation distribution showed that the electric field enhancement of the AgNT structures is optimal when the tilting angle is 72°. Such AgNT substrates were successfully obtained experimentally when the included angle between the silver vapor and the normal of the sample platform was set to 86°. R6G and CV were used as probe molecules to investigate the SERS activity of AgNT, which revealed that the detection limits of AgNT for R6G and CV were 2.24×10-8 M and 4.01×10-8 M, the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 4.26% and 4.44%, and the enhancement factors (EFs) were 9.58×106 and 1.16×107, respectively. The AgNT substrates with simple preparation and high distribution density of "hot spots" illustrate a good application prospect in environmental monitoring.

Transparent Fused Nanowire Electrodes by Condensation Coefficient Modulation

AbstractSilver nanowire networks can offer exceptionally high performance as transparent electrodes for stretchable sensors, flexible optoelectronics, and energy harvesting devices. However, this type of electrode suffers from the triple drawbacks of complexity of fabrication, instability of the nanowire junctions, and high surface roughness, which limit electrode performance and utility. Here, a new concept in the fabrication of silver nanowire electrodes is reported that simultaneously addresses all three of these drawbacks, based on an electrospun nanofiber network and supporting substrate having silver vapor condensation coefficients of one and near‐zero, respectively. Consequently, when the whole substrate is exposed to silver vapor by simple thermal evaporation, metal selectively deposits onto the nanofiber network. The advantage of this approach is the simplicity, since there is no mask, chemical or dry metal etching step, or mesh transfer step. Additionally, the contact resistance between nanowires is zero and the surface roughness is sufficiently low for integration into organic photovoltaic devices. This new concept opens the door to continuous roll‐to‐roll fabrication of high‐performance fused silver nanowire electrodes for myriad potential applications.

Evolution of anodic erosion components and heat transfer efficiency for W and W80Ag20 in atmospheric-pressure arcs

Based on the in situ diagnostic system and the digital image post-processing technique, quantifications of the anodic erosion components and heat transfer efficiency for tungsten and the W80Ag20 material in arcs of argon, helium, and nitrogen were achieved. The leading vaporization of silver has been found to result in evidently lower anodic heat transfer efficiency and much smaller molten pools compared with those of the tungsten anode, but the intensive generation of silver vapor under the melt layer causes higher splashing erosion of the W80Ag20 anode. However, these characteristics can be strongly changed by the cathodic blowing, which leads to a much higher splashing erosion of tungsten anode but a lower erosion rate of W80Ag20 anode. Through the visualization of the erosion behavior and the post microanalysis of the anode surface, the possible driving mechanisms for the generation of the splashing droplet were discussed. The result indicates that the local high pressure caused by the vapor blasting during the bubble explosion plays a key role in the detachment of splashing droplets. Furthermore, as for the tungsten-based anode, the comparison of erosion behavior between the W80Ag20 anode and the previous-studied W70Cu30 anode makes it clear that increasing the temperature difference between the melting point (MP) of tungsten and the boiling point (BP) of the other material has the pros and cons. It is effective for the decrease of the anode erosion when the anode heat energy is relatively weak, while it can promote the splashing erosion when the liquid tungsten layer has been formed on the anode tip. These results are beneficial for the optimal design of the electrode system in circuit breakers.

The Gas-Jet Method of Deposition of Nanostructured Silver Films

The synthesis of thin silver films by the gas-jet deposition method is experimentally and theoretically studied. When the metal is deposited onto silicon substrates from a supersonic jet of silver vapor with a helium carrier gas, nanostructured films with a 3−30 nm size of nanostructures are obtained for a 1230−1380 K range of jet source temperatures. The data on Ag–He gas-jet dynamics when it is expanded into vacuum (velocity, temperature, concentration, flux of particles onto a substrate) depending on parameters at the source (vapor temperature, flow rate of a carrier gas) are obtained by the method of direct simulation Monte Carlo. The range of optimal helium flow rates, when the efficiency of a gas-jet source is maximal, is determined. It is established that the presence of a background gas in a deposition chamber at pressure higher than 1 Pa decreases the flow of particles onto a substrate, and a simple way of its evaluation is proposed. Conditions for formation of silver clusters in the jet are determined by using the simulation. It is shown that for experimental deposition regimes there are no clusters in the jet, and the observed silver nanostructures are formed on the substrate surface.

О газоструйном методе осаждения наноструктурных пленок серебра

AbstractThe synthesis of thin silver films by the gas-jet deposition method is experimentally and theoretically studied. When the metal is deposited onto silicon substrates from a supersonic jet of silver vapor with a helium carrier gas, nanostructured films with a 3−30 nm size of nanostructures are obtained for a 1230−1380 K range of jet source temperatures. The data on Ag–He gas-jet dynamics when it is expanded into vacuum (velocity, temperature, concentration, flux of particles onto a substrate) depending on parameters at the source (vapor temperature, flow rate of a carrier gas) are obtained by the method of direct simulation Monte Carlo. The range of optimal helium flow rates, when the efficiency of a gas-jet source is maximal, is determined. It is established that the presence of a background gas in a deposition chamber at pressure higher than 1 Pa decreases the flow of particles onto a substrate, and a simple way of its evaluation is proposed. Conditions for formation of silver clusters in the jet are determined by using the simulation. It is shown that for experimental deposition regimes there are no clusters in the jet, and the observed silver nanostructures are formed on the substrate surface.

Thermodynamic Properties and Transport Coefficients of Nitrogen, Hydrogen and Helium Plasma Mixed with Silver Vapor**supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51277038 and 51307030)

Species composites of Ag-N2, Ag-H2 and Ag-He plasmas in the temperature range of 3,000-20,000 K and at 1 atmospheric pressure were calculated by using the minimization of Gibbs free energy. Thermodynamic properties and transport coefficients of nitrogen, hydrogen and helium plasmas mixed with a variety of silver vapor were then calculated based on the equilibrium composites and collision integral data. The calculation procedure was verified by comparing the results obtained in this paper with the published transport coefficients on the case of pure nitrogen plasma. The influences of the silver vapor concentration on composites, thermodynamic properties and transport coefficients were finally analyzed and summarized for all the three types of plasmas. Those physical properties were important for theoretical study and numerical calculation on arc plasma generated by silver-based electrodes in those gases in sealed electromagnetic relays and contacts.

Silver Nanoparticles Prepared by Electrical Arc Discharge Method in DIW

In this work, Silvernanoparticles prepared by arc discharge method in deionized water byapplying stablized direct current between two silver rods which are submerged in deionized waterat room temperature without any heat exchanger,vacuum equipment and gas handling equipment. During electrical discharge the temperature between electrodes can reach several thousand Celsius degrees. This leads to etch of silver electrodes in deionized water, silver vapor condensed in water creats a stable silver aqueous suspension. The silver nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Visiblephotometer, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Atomic Force MicroscopeAFM. The optical absorption measurement showsthat the spectrum exhibits a Plasmon absorption band at ~ 400 nm which is the characteristic of silver nanoparticles. X-Ray Diffraction of the resulting NPs indicated that the particles had a crystalline structureand the average particle size determined from AFM, is about 78.75 nm.

Properties of silver nanoclusters and bulk silver, using a new and accurate HFD-like potential, including many-body interactions: the inversion scheme and molecular dynamics simulation

A new potential function was obtained for silver nanoclusters and bulk silver via the inversion of viscosity collision integrals of monatomic silver vapor.

Coating of Silica and Titania Aerosol Nanoparticles by Silver Vapor Condensation

Silica and titania aerosol nanoparticles are coated with silver through a physical coating process. The silver is evaporated in a tubular furnace flow system and condensed on the ceramic carrier particles with diameters of approximately 100 nm. The temperature gradient in the furnace system is optimized in order to avoid homogeneous nucleation of the silver. The generated ceramic–silver composite nanoparticles are characterized with aerosol measurements and analytical transmission electron microscopy. Two completely different particle morphologies are clearly observed, silver-decoration and composite doublet, with amorphous silica and crystalline rutile titania as the carrier particles, respectively. The former morphology consists of multiple silver nanodots with diameters of 1–10 nm, while in the latter morphology the silver had formed a larger structure with a size comparable to that of the carrier particle. Different shapes are observed in these larger silver structures, such as triangular, rodlike, an...

Embroidered electrode with silver/titanium coating for long-term ECG monitoring.

For the long-time monitoring of electrocardiograms, electrodes must be skin-friendly and non-irritating, but in addition they must deliver leads without artifacts even if the skin is dry and the body is moving. Today's adhesive conducting gel electrodes are not suitable for such applications. We have developed an embroidered textile electrode from polyethylene terephthalate yarn which is plasma-coated with silver for electrical conductivity and with an ultra-thin titanium layer on top for passivation. Two of these electrodes are embedded into a breast belt. They are moisturized with a very low amount of water vapor from an integrated reservoir. The combination of silver, titanium and water vapor results in an excellent electrode chemistry. With this belt the long-time monitoring of electrocardiography (ECG) is possible at rest as well as when the patient is moving.

Influence of Silver Vapours on the Transport of Nitrogen Plasma Properties

Theoretical investigation of nitrogen-silver arc transport properties and an arc plasma model in stationary state have studied at low temperature i.e. between 3500 K and 13,000 K at atmospheric pressure. Results showed that the presence of small amounts of metal vapours, which have low ionization potential such as silver, modify the plasma characteristics. The solution of Elenbaas-Heller gives us some information about the effect of metal vapours emitted from electrode on the characteristics of the arc column. We concluded that a small fraction of metal vapours in the arc column modify the electric field, current and the axial temperature.

Seeded growth of monodisperse and spherical silver nanoparticles

Aiming at spherical and monodisperse silver nanoparticles with diameters up to 100nm, the potential of heterogeneous nucleation of silver particles was explored. Gold seed particles, mainly produced with a spark discharge generator, were carried by nitrogen through a three-zone tube furnace. Silver was evaporated at 1210°C in the first zone of the furnace and particle growth and shaping took place in the subsequent zones, heated to 730°C and 390°C, respectively. The generated aerosol was monitored by a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), while parameters, such as furnace temperature, seed particle size and concentration and nitrogen carrier gas flow, were investigated. Off-line atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the morphology of the silver nanoparticles in addition to the SMPS scans. Spherical silver nanoparticles with a mobility diameter of more than 115nm and a geometric standard deviation of typically 1.09 or lower at concentrations as large as 5×105cm−3 could be produced. The mobility diameter of the monodisperse aerosol could be varied in the range of 50nm to 115nm by changing the furnace temperature or the gold seed particle size. Elemental analysis revealed that the gold from the seed particles formed a homogeneous alloy with the silver (≤3.5at.% of gold). The growth mechanism could not be identified unambiguously since the obtained silver particles could both originate from heterogeneous nucleation of silver vapour on the seed particles or from coagulation and coalescence of the seed particles with smaller, homogeneously nucleated silver particles. Moreover, the narrow size distribution opens the opportunity to obtain an exclusively singly charged, monodisperse calibration aerosol at sufficient concentrations after an additional mobility selection process.

Emission of Ag2 dimers from a substrate during vacuum deposition of the mixture of silver and water vapor

The work presents calculation of Ag2 dimers emission from the substrate into the vapor medium in case of joint deposition of silver and water vapors on ideal substrate formally modeling the crystal of water ice in terms of energy properties. It is assumed that the dimers are formed on the condensation surface as a result of random collisions of atoms at their surface migration, and the dimers emission is conditioned by thermal fluctuations of crystal lattice of water ice. The calculations based on the modified Langmuir adsorption model allowed concluding that emission of silver and water dimers takes place in the entire range of the studied water vapor pressure, binding energy of silver-water, and crystal temperature. Dynamics of emission from the beginning of deposition and dependence of dimers emission on micro-roughness of the condensate surface have been investigated. Statistical processing of results has shown that the probability of dimers emission from the condensate surface is determined not only by the value of the binding energy between the dimer and condensate but by configuration of the nearest dimer environment on the condensation surface. It has been found that there is a certain value of micro-roughness of condensation surface providing the maximal intensity of dimer emission. Dimers emission from the surfaces bordering on the flows of vapor mixtures contaminates the flows with unsuspected admixtures. The latter one makes investigation of this phenomenon important for aeromechanics of vapor and gas mixtures.

Nonlinear polarization response of an atomic gas medium in the field of a high-intensity femtosecond laser pulse

Polarization response that appears in silver vapors in the field of a high-intensity femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser has been studied by the direct numerical integration of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation. The regions of applicability have been determined for perturbation theory and the power series expansion of the polarization in the field. The contribution of free electrons to the response at the frequency of the interacting field has been calculated, which is due to the photoionization process and limits the Kerr effect. An important contribution of laser-excited atomic states to nonlinear atomic responses of neutral atoms has been demonstrated.

Connection of Gibbs layer gatherings with rate of mass transfer upon deposition of thin films with presence of impurity

The Gibbs layer gatherings on the condensation front of silver vapor in the presence of water vapor are analyzed. The front of condensation for analyzing the Gibbs concentration excess is calculated with the use of the modified Langmuir’s model of sorption. At a fixed flow of silver vapor and temperature of the substrate, the water-vapor pressure varies. Calculations have shown that the change of the water-vapor pressure changes the structure of the silver condensate, the structure of Gibbs layers, and microroughness on the condensation front. As a consequence, the efficiency of mass transfer varies. With growth of the water-vapor pressure, the condensation efficiency of both vapor components decreases. For obtaining the most equal surface of condensed silver film there is an optimum water-vapor pressure. The results allow the influence of noncondensed gas impurity on growth of thin films to be understood in greater detail and help to choose optimum modes for vacuum deposition. A general conclusion regarding the connection of the Gibbs layers and microroughness of the condensation surface with the intensity of mass transfer, leaving a framework of vacuum deposition processes, is drawn.

Preparation of a Ag/SiO 2 nanocomposite using a fluidized bed microwave plasma reactor, and its hydrodesulphurization and Escherichia coli bactericidal activities

The synthesis of silver nanoparticles supported by silica–alumina is presented. The innovative combination of microwave-plasma and fluidized bed technologies are employed to decompose and vaporize silver precursors, such as silver oxide or silver nitrate. The results show that silver vapors condense with a homogeneous distribution of nanosize particles over the support. These particles range from 3 to 50 nm in diameter, as measured using electron microscopy. They are in a non-oxidized state, as revealed with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The material shows attractive physical and chemical properties due to the excellent dispersion of metallic particles. The nano-Ag/SiO 2–Al 2O 3 metal-ceramic composite can specifically be used as either a catalyst because it is active in the hydrodesulphurization of dibenzothiophene or as an antibacterial sand-filter due to its bactericidal effect on E. coli.