Growth of copper nanoparticles by modified magnetron sputtering

Abstract

Study of nanomaterials have received considerable attention due to their unique properties and numerous applications in different fields. Metallic nanoparticles are of great interest due to their excellent chemical, physical and catalytic properties. Copper nanoparticles attracted a lot of attention because of their well-known properties, such as high electrical and thermal conductivity, antibacterial and antifungal effects, high catalytic activity, etc. Cu nanoparticles were considered cost-effective in compare with other noble metals, such as Ag, Au and Pt.There are various methods for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles, such as chemical reduction, microemulsion method, electrolytic synthesis, sol-gel method, vacuum vapor deposition, etc.The most simple but effective way of obtaining nano and microparticles is the magnetron sputtering method. Each method presents its own shortcomings. In this paper the dependence of the copper nanoparticles growth on the gas discharge parameters obtained by magnetron sputtering method are investigated. As a result of experimental work, it was revealed that the synthesis of copper nanoparticles is influenced by various parameters, such as gas pressure in chamber and discharge current. The obtained samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The Cu nanoparticles have a spherical shape and have a diameter from 36 nm to 300 nm.