Organization of copper nanoclusters in Langmuir-Blodgett films

Abstract

Stable nanoclusters of Cu were synthesized using Langmuir-Blodgett films of octadecylsuccinic acid (ODSA) as template. The Langmuir-Blodgett films of ODSA formed from subphase containing copper ions were first subjected to sulphidation (S) using sodium sulphide and then hydrogenated (H) using hydrogen gas. Diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy (DIR-UV-vis), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) used to characterize these films indicated the formation of Cu(0) metallic clusters ranging in size from 3 - 10 nm.