Preparation and characterization of nanocomposite thin films containing gold nanoparticles by single-step atmospheric pressure plasma deposition process

Preparation and characterization of nanocomposite thin films containing gold nanoparticles by single-step atmospheric pressure plasma deposition process | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Preparation and characterization of nanocomposite thin films containing gold nanoparticles by single-step atmospheric pressure plasma deposition process Elène Bizeray, Antoine Belinger, Simon Dap, Sophie Nowak, Philippe Decorse, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8223792/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study focuses on the plasma deposition of metal/polymer nanocomposite thin films at atmospheric pressure and low temperature. The synthesis process combines a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) with an aerosol of a solution of a gold salt ( i.e. , tetrachloroauric acid trihydrate, HAuCl 4 ·3H 2 O) in isopropanol. In particular, the solution is injected as an aerosol into a parallel-plate DBD fed with nitrogen and powered by a dual-frequency modulated (800 Hz/20 kHz) sinusoidal high voltage. The influence of duty cycle variation ( i.e. , the ratio of high-frequency time to total cycle time) on the properties of the deposited layers is assessed, keeping constant the gold salt concentration in the aerosolized solution. The chemical composition, morphology, and optical properties of the deposited layers are determined using various characterization techniques, including attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. It appears that increasing the duty cycle affects both the growth rate of the nanocomposite thin film and the efficiency in gold salt reduction into metallic nanoparticles, thereby influencing the plasmonic properties. Overall, these results offer new insights into the potential of using a single-step aerosol-assisted plasma process to deposit functional organic/inorganic nanocomposite thin films at atmospheric pressure. Dielectric Barrier Discharge nanocomposite metal salts PECVD aerosol Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 24 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 23 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 10 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 30 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 30 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 27 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8223792","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":558957303,"identity":"a711b5e0-3bf0-40ca-a883-b0f70c50496f","order_by":0,"name":"Elène Bizeray","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Université de Toulouse","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Elène","middleName":"","lastName":"Bizeray","suffix":""},{"id":558957306,"identity":"dac02591-18a7-4705-b360-329542f3b936","order_by":1,"name":"Antoine Belinger","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Université de 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process","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"plasma-chemistry-and-plasma-processing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":" Learn more about [Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing](https://www.springer.com/journal/11090 ","snPcode":"11090","submissionUrl":"https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pcpp","title":"Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Dielectric Barrier Discharge, nanocomposite, metal salts, PECVD, aerosol","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8223792/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8223792/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study focuses on the plasma deposition of metal/polymer nanocomposite thin films at atmospheric pressure and low temperature. The synthesis process combines a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) with an aerosol of a solution of a gold salt (\u003cem\u003ei.e.\u003c/em\u003e, tetrachloroauric acid trihydrate, HAuCl\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026middot;3H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO) in isopropanol. In particular, the solution is injected as an aerosol into a parallel-plate DBD fed with nitrogen and powered by a dual-frequency modulated (800 Hz/20 kHz) sinusoidal high voltage. The influence of duty cycle variation (\u003cem\u003ei.e.\u003c/em\u003e, the ratio of high-frequency time to total cycle time) on the properties of the deposited layers is assessed, keeping constant the gold salt concentration in the aerosolized solution. The chemical composition, morphology, and optical properties of the deposited layers are determined using various characterization techniques, including attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. It appears that increasing the duty cycle affects both the growth rate of the nanocomposite thin film and the efficiency in gold salt reduction into metallic nanoparticles, thereby influencing the plasmonic properties. Overall, these results offer new insights into the potential of using a single-step aerosol-assisted plasma process to deposit functional organic/inorganic nanocomposite thin films at atmospheric pressure.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Preparation and characterization of nanocomposite thin films containing gold nanoparticles by single-step atmospheric pressure plasma deposition process","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-17 11:26:38","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8223792/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-12-24T20:49:43+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-23T21:00:51+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"64813285636699463458647183900683262245","date":"2025-12-10T23:29:55+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-12-10T21:34:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-12-01T00:54:22+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-12-01T00:54:07+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing","date":"2025-11-27T15:59:39+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"plasma-chemistry-and-plasma-processing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":" Learn more about [Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing](https://www.springer.com/journal/11090 ","snPcode":"11090","submissionUrl":"https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pcpp","title":"Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"3dd4bcd5-f3ad-480a-9d7b-b71ef580bc4f","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 17th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-17T14:56:36+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-17 11:26:38","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8223792","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8223792","identity":"rs-8223792","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}