Immobilization of gold nanoparticles on a polycarbonate surface layer during molding

A gold nanoparticle layer on a substrate is deposited by electrostatic deposition from a colloidal solution. This layer is transferred to the surface of a polycarbonate sheet by molding. Our investigations reveal that the nanoparticles are almost completely transferred. A random distribution over the surface is found, which is almost equivalent to that on the substrate surface. The particles are embedded into the outermost surface layer of polycarbonate and covered by a polycarbonate layer of about 5 nm in thickness. This ensures an effective immobilization of the particles. Such a layer may be used for applications where, for example, a selective surface activation by irradiation is desired.