Electrophoretic deposition of manganese oxide nanoparticles on aluminum substrate under different electrophoretic conditions

Abstract

Mn₃O₄ (hausmannite) nanoparticles were synthesized by pulsed laser ablation (PLA) method in liquid environment and deposited on aluminum substrate by direct current electrophoretic deposition (DC-EPD) technique. The effects of deposition voltage and time on the characteristics of films were studied by a variety of diagnostic methods. The X-ray diffraction pattern confirms the formation of manganese oxide nanoparticles with the chemical formula of Mn₃O₄, known as hausmannite, which were stable during the deposition process. FESEM micrographs illustrate that with increasing the deposition voltage, the morphology of films was changed from spherical nanoparticles to nanosheets. Furthermore, the AFM studies show that parameters such as roughness, average particles size, and thickness of deposited thin films can be controlled by applied voltage and deposition time. Finally, UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy results indicate that the reflectance patterns of the samples depend on the material of the thin films and substrate as well as the size of particles in the structure of films.