EFFECT OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES ON THE OPTICAL REFLECTANCE SPECTRA OF Ag/Ag2O COMPOSITES SYNTHESIZED BY OXYGEN PLASMA TREATMENT OF SILVER THIN FILMS

Abstract

In this work, we present the results of a unique study that aims to detect the structural effects on the plasma edges in optical reflectance spectra of Ag/Ag2O composites synthesized by treating silver thin films manufactured by thermal evaporation method with oxygen plasma afterglow. The results showed that, each of the optical reflectance spectra contains two plasma edges, the first ([Formula: see text] belongs to the surface plasmons of the individual silver nanoparticles, and the second ([Formula: see text] belongs to the larger silver nanoparticles. In addition, we found that the positions of the plasma edges are linearly related to the positions of the optical absorption peaks, except for high and low oxidation rates cases.