Aggregation behavior of ligand-protected Au₉ clusters on sputtered atomic layer deposition TiO₂

Abstract

[Au₉(PPh₃)₈)](NO₃)₃ (Au)₉ clusters were deposited onto sputtered ALD titania surfaces. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to determine the height and distributions of the Au₉ clusters over the titania surface fabricated using atomic layer deposition (ALD). Synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to derive information about the degree of agglomeration of the Au₉ clusters due to the annealing process. Both AFM and XPS show that the Au₉ clusters deposited on ALD titania are partially agglomerated after annealing. Deposition of the [Au₉(PPh₃)₈)](NO₃)₃ clusters on sputtered ALD titania is compared with deposition of the same cluster on titania nanosheets of previous work.