Thermal modification of layer-by-layer assembled gold nanoparticle films

Gold nanoparticle films are assembled on glass and quartz substrates by a simple and highly efficient layer-by-layer deposition procedure that uses only commercially available cationic polymers. The film samples are then modified by heat curing in the temperature range of 25–1100 °C. The changes in the film conductance and colour with the curing temperature are related to the respective changes in micro-morphology of films on quartz as observed by scanning electron microscopy. In addition, we have demonstrated that the heat curing can embed the gold nanoparticle layer in the glass substrates. Because of the preparation simplicity and peculiar properties of these films, they could be used in various practical applications.