Transmission electron microscopy of thiol-capped Au clusters on C: Structure and electron irradiation effects

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy is used to study interactions between thiol-capped Au clusters and amorphous C support films. The morphologies of the clusters are found to depend both on their size and on the local structure of the underlying C. When the C is amorphous, larger Au clusters are crystalline, while smaller clusters are typically disordered. When the C is graphitic, the Au particles adopt either elongated shapes that maximize their contact with the edge of the C film or planar arrays when they contain few Au atoms. We demonstrate the influence of electron beam irradiation on the structure, shape and stability of the Au clusters, as well as on the formation of holes bounded by terraces of graphitic lamellae in the underlying C.