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Zn nanodot patterning in borosilicate glasses by electron irradiation

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Abstract

Metallic zinc nanoparticles are generated in two compositional ranges of borosilicate glasses upon 200 and 300 keV electron beam irradiation in a transmission electron microscope. Irradiation effects are studied either with a stationary electron beam as a time series or with spatially varying beams for line-scan patterning. The size of the zinc nanodots formed is inversely related to the distance from the center of the electron beam, and growth from 5 to 50 nm over time via ripening can be observed. Line-scan patterning via both thermal gun and field emission gun electron irradiation has been successfully achieved. Our findings also show the occurrence of self-organized particle ordering, such as formation of chains. Metal nanoparticles have a tendency to migrate toward the glass fragment center, unless high intensity radiation ablates the glass matrix, when Zn particles remain decorating the surface. High-resolution lattice imaging, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy are used to confirm particle identity.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government/Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for the funding of the project as a part of Human Capacity Development Program (HCDP). We also thank Dr Ian Ross for helpful contribution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, United Kingdom

    Mohammed Mohammed Sabri, Russell J. Hand & Günter Möbus

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  1. Mohammed Mohammed Sabri
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  2. Russell J. Hand
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  3. Günter Möbus
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Correspondence to Mohammed Mohammed Sabri.

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Mohammed Sabri, M., Hand, R.J. & Möbus, G. Zn nanodot patterning in borosilicate glasses by electron irradiation. Journal of Materials Research 30, 1914–1924 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2015.122

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