Preparation and characterization of Au/ZrO2 nanoparticles obtained by oxidation of ZrXAuY alloy

Recently, we have shown that powders containing both gold and ZrO2 nanosized particles could be prepared by low temperature (T<100 °C) oxidation of cast crystalline Zr–Au alloys. In this report, we present the preliminary results of a study aiming at preparing the mixed nanosized particles from thin films. In a first step, pure Zr and Au layers are alternatively deposited by RF sputtering on Si and W substrates under vacuum. Then, the intermetallic compounds are formed at high temperature under an inert atmosphere or in vacuum. The resulting samples are characterised by X-ray diffraction and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).