Synthesis of diamond-like carbon/nanosilica composite films by an electrochemical method

Diamond-like carbon/nanosilica composite films have been deposited on silicon substrates, making use of the electrolysis of methanol–dimethylethoxydisilane (DDS) solution at low temperature. The electrodeposited composite films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. Moreover, the growth mechanism of the composite films in liquid phase was discussed as well. As the results, the films are diamond-like carbon films containing polycrystalline SiO2 nanoparticles. The introduction of DDS contributes to promote the growth of the carbon films and leads to the formation of the crystalline SiO2 grains. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]