Structure and properties of Ag coatings on nanofibers prepared by magnetron sputtering

Nanoscale silver functional coatings were prepared on the surface of nanofiber at room temperature by DC reactive magnetron sputtering process. The surface morphology and microstructure of silver coatings prepared by using different sputtering powers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy( SEM) and transmission electron microscopy( TEM),along with their transmisivity. X-ray diffractometry was used to examine the crystalline state of the silver coatings. The results showed that silver coatings were formed by small-sized and homogeneous particles. Increasing the sputtering power increased the size of silver particles,and accordingly increased the evenness and compactness of the coatings. The as-prepared silver coatings presented a face-centered cubic of polycrystalline structure,and with the increase of sputtering power,the crystallinty and UPF of the coatings enhanced significantly.