Metal-Insulator Transition of Ultrathin Sputtered Metals on Phenolic Resin Thin Films: Growth Morphology and Relations to Surface Free Energy and Reactivity.

ABSTRACT: Nanostructured metal assemblies on thin and ultrathin polymeric films enable state of the art technologies and have further potential in diverse fields. Rational design of the structure-function relationship is of critical importance but aggravated by the scarcity of systematic studies. Here, we studied the influence of the interplay between metal and polymer surface free energy and reactivity on the evolution of electric conductivity and the resulting morphologies. In situ resistance measurements during sputter deposition of Ag, Au, Cu and Ni films on ultrathin reticulated polymer films collectively reveal metal-insulator transitions characteristic for Volmer-Weber growth. The different onsets of percolation correlate with interfacial energy and energy of adhesion weakly but as expected f

SUBMITTER: Schuster C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7996922 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature