Study of thermal annealing induced plasmonic bleaching in Ag:TiO2 nanocomposite thin films

Plasmonic properties of metal nanomaterials critically affect on thermal treatments. One of such effects is ‘plasmonic-bleaching’ observed in ‘atom beam co-sputtering’ derived Ag:TiO 2 nanocomposite thin films, when annealed at 450 °C. The origin of bleaching is investigated using glancing angle X-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. The kinetics of Ag nanoparticles during the deposition and after thermal treatment is presented to understand involved host-matrix interactions. Based on Rutherford Materials Program simulation, possible mechanism of bleaching is presented.