Combined in situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy–UV/Vis and AFM studies of Ag nanoparticle stability in perfluorinated films

In situ electrochemical–UV/Vis spectroscopic analysis in combination with AFM measurements were performed to study the reactivity of Ag nanoparticles sandwiched in between two polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) films. The electrolyte uptake in the film was correlated with the onset of the changes in the surface plasmon resonance by measuring the film capacitance and the surface plasmon resonance peak simultaneously as a function of the exposure time. AFM studies indicate that both particle ripening and Ag dissolution take place and the dissolution kinetics was shown to decrease with increasing covering film thickness.

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► In situ UV/Vis-EIS was introduced for AgNP dissolution studies.
► Onset of AgNP dissolution coincided with the electrolyte ingress into the coating.
► Dissolution was affected by the protective PTFE coating thickness.
► More controlled AgNPs dissolution was achieved with PTFE coating thickness of 20 nm or more.