Microscopic Electrochemical Control of Ag Nanoparticles into Mesoporous TiO 2 Thin Films

LINARES MOREAU, M. M.; MARTÍNEZ, E. D.; FUERTES, M. C.; ZELCER, A.; GOLMAR, F.; GRANELL, P. N.; LEVY, P. E.; SOLER ILLIA, G. J. A. A.; GRANJA, L. P.

JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Lugar: Washington; Año: 2019

1932-7447

Conductive-tip atomic force microscopy18 (CAFM) was used to explore the effects of high electric fields19 on silver nanoparticle (NP) arrays embedded inside the pores20 of mesoporous TiO2 thin films (MTF). A controlled local21 modification of the distribution of AgNPs inside the MTF and22 their electronic transport properties was carried out. The23 process is driven by strong electrochemically induced Ag+24 migration and reduction inside the pores localized around the25 CAFM tip. Depending on the experimental parameters, we26 were able to induce drastic and violent changes, both at the27 surface and at the MTF/Si interface, that is, through the whole scanned region. Therefore, the results reported in this work28 contribute to the design and development of novel metal NP-based devices at the micro- and nanoscale.