Stabilization of metal nanoparticle films on glass surfaces using ultrathin silica coating

Metal nanoparticle (NP) films, prepared by adsorption of NPs from a colloidal solution onto a preconditioned solid substrate, usually form well-dispersed random NP monolayers on the surface. For certain metals (e.g., Au, Ag, Cu), the NP films display a characteristic localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) extinction band, conveniently measured using transmission or reflection ultraviolet-visible light (UV-vis) spectroscopy. The surface plasmon band wavelength, intensity, and shape are affected by (among other parameters) the NP spatial distribution on the surface and the effective refractive index (RI) of the surrounding medium. A major concern in the formation of such NP assemblies on surfaces is a commonly observed instability, i.e., a strong tendency of the NPs to undergo aggregation upon removal from the solution and drying, expressed as a drastic change in the LSPR band. Since various imaging modes and applications require dried NP films, preservation of the film initial (wet) morphology and optical properties upon drying are highly desirable. The latter is achieved in the present work by introducing a convenient and generally applicable method for preventing NP aggregation upon drying while preserving the original film morphology and optical response. Stabilization of Au and Ag NP monolayers toward drying is accomplished by coating the immobilized NPs with an ultrathin (3.0-3.5 nm) silica layer, deposited using a sol-gel reaction performed on an intermediate self-assembled aminosilane layer. The thin silica coating prevents NP aggregation and maintains the initial NP film morphology and LSPR response during several cycles of drying and immersion in water. It is shown that the silica-coated NP films retain their properties as effective LSPR transducers.