A solid-state route for the synthesis of metal nanocluster composite glasses

A field-assisted solid state ion exchange (FASSIE) approach is used to dope silicate glasses with mono- and/or multivalent ions, in which the diffusion of ions coming from a film deposited onto the glass surface is driven by an external electric field. Metal precipitation to form nanoparticles may take place during the ion exchange, depending on the process parameters, or it can be induced by irradiation with high power laser beams. Characterization of silicate glass samples doped with either gold or silver is performed by optical absorption and transmission electron microscopy