Bals, Sara

Benetti, Giulio

Cavaliere, Emanuele

Gavioli, Luca

Van Bael, Margriet

Winckelmans, Naomi

Abstract: Nanocomposite systems and nanoparticle (NP) films are crucial for many applications and research fields. The structure-properties correlation raises complex questions due to the collective structure of these systems, often granular and porous, a crucial factor impacting their effectiveness and performance. In this framework, we investigate the optical and morphological properties of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) films and of Ag NPs/TiO2 porous matrix films, one-step grown by supersonic cluster beam deposition. Morphology and structure of the Ag NPs film and of the Ag/TiO2 (Ag/Ti 50-50) nanocomposite are related to the optical properties of the film employing spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). We employ a simple Bruggeman effective medium approximation model, corrected by finite size effects of the nano-objects in the film structure to gather information on the structure and morphology of the nanocomposites, in particular porosity and average NPs size for the Ag/TiO2 NP film. Our results suggest that SE is a simple, quick and effective method to measure porosity of nanoscale films and systems, where standard methods for measuring pore sizes might not be applicable

Exploring the optical and morphological properties of Ag and <tex>Ag/TiO_{2}$</tex> nanocomposites grown by supersonic cluster beam deposition

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