Fractal properties of aggregates of metal nanoclusters on solid surface

AFM images are used to determine and analyze fractal characteristics (cluster fraction dimension and lacunarity) of aggregates of Au and Ag nanoclusters on metal films of the same metal produced with the aid of thermal vacuum deposition on mica surface. A fractal dimension of 1.6 that corresponds to typical samples with relatively uniform distribution of nanoclusters on the film surface is in agreement with the mean value calculated from experimental data of Belko et al., who studied the fractal dimension of Au nanoclusters on a different dielectric (quartz) surface. When a compact single aggregate of Au nanoclusters is formed on a certain active center or defect, the fractal cluster dimension decreases to 1.4. The experimental data are compared with the results of existing theoretical models of association of nanoclusters in 2D systems.