Nanocomposites by fractal growth of electrodeposited silver in ion-exchanged oxide glasses

Clusters of metallic silver have been formed by electrodeposition within the surface of an oxide glass which was subjected to an alkali silver ion exchange process. The clusters have a fractal structure with a Hausdorff dimension D around 1.86 over a length scale 10–140 μm. Electron micrograph of the sample indicates the possibility of a crossover to a nonfractal regime at length scales of the order of a few hundred nanometers. The fractal growth within the glass results in the formation of a glass metal nanocomposite with a particle diameter around 12 nm.