Growth of silver nanoparticles of variable and controlled diameter in silica-based and soda-lime glasses by simultaneous continuous ultraviolet irradiation and heat treatment
Résumé
We report on the space-selective precipitation of silver nanoparticles in silica-based and silver-exchanged soda-lime glasses by simultaneous continuous wave ultraviolet exposure and heat treatment. In silica-based glasses, we explain that simultaneous treatments lead to much higher silver nanoparticles concentration than similar treatments performed into two separated steps by minimizing the detrimental influence of oxidation on the nanoparticles’ growth. In the case of silver-exchanged soda-lime glasses, nanoparticles are observed with both small and larger diameters of about 1 and 7 nm, whose concentrations depend both on the laser power density and on the heating temperature.