Narrow Results

The main aim of this paper is to fabricate and characterize silver oxide thin films and to investigate the effect of processing parameters on the microstructure of deposited films. Radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering was used under oxygen-argon mixed gas atmosphere for fabrication. Oxide phase evolution and stability were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) of as-deposited and post deposition annealed films. In all cases, the hexagonal phase was initially observed which then got transformed to the cubic phase upon annealing films. The hexagonal–cubic "transition" temperature decreases initially upon increase of oxygen content, which is corroborated by optical spectra. The evolution of optical absorption edge was monitored by a spectrophotometer. A bandgap energy of 3.5 eV was deduced for Ag₂O at 300 K. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has revealed the influence of deposition conditions on the surface morphology of the films.

In this work, we present the results of a unique study that aims to detect the structural effects on the plasma edges in optical reflectance spectra of Ag/Ag₂O composites synthesized by treating silver thin films manufactured by thermal evaporation method with oxygen plasma afterglow. The results showed that, each of the optical reflectance spectra contains two plasma edges, the first (${\lambda }_{\text{I}})$ belongs to the surface plasmons of the individual silver nanoparticles, and the second (${\lambda }_{\text{L}})$ belongs to the larger silver nanoparticles. In addition, we found that the positions of the plasma edges are linearly related to the positions of the optical absorption peaks, except for high and low oxidation rates cases.

This research aims to develop a novel approach, employing cold plasma technology for preparing nanoparticles of silver oxide by Anethum graveolens (dill) leaf extract as a natural reducing agent. This investigation evaluated the properties of antibacterial and antibiofilm-prepared nanoparticles. Initially, dill leaf extract was prepared to stabilize and reduce the size of silver oxide nanoparticles. Improved synthesis and optimal conditions for nanoparticle formation were achieved through the application of cold plasma technology. The results obtained showed that the prepared silver oxide nanoparticles have strong antibacterial properties and that they have antibacterial activity against a different group of bacteria that cause diseases such as Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The results also showed the effectiveness of nanoparticles in preventing the formation of bacterial biofilms, as the highest rate of inhibition was for gram-positive bacteria S. aureus. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of plant extracts and cold plasma technology when combined in producing nanoparticles with improved properties, which may push toward the employment of these materials in developing innovative and sustainable solutions in various scientific and applied fields.