A study of Au/BaTiO3 composite films prepared by sol-gel processing

Abstract

Au-BT film crystallization mechanism was studied using real-time synchrotron X-ray scattering experiments. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Au nanoparticles was studied using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The effects of chelating agent on Au formation were also investigated. The anomalous X-ray scattering (AXS) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) experiments were performed to study the chemistry of Au. The reduction of BaTiO3 (BT) films crystallization temperature by Au particles has been observed. The reduction of BT films crystallization temperature could due to the presence of AuTi3, which acted as a heterogeneous nucleation site. The Au reduction was confirmed by the observation of Au SPR in the as-deposited Au-BT films. It was found that sol-gel processing was capable of forming textured Au embedded in the BT matrix. The mosaic of as-deposited Au (111) Bragg peak was about 1.48A?. AXS study shows only Au are present in this (111) long-range order.