Fractal growth of silver nanoclusters in a polymer medium

Fractal growth of metallic silver within a polymer matrix has been induced by chemical reduction of a suitable sol. A fractal dimension of 1.73±0.01 over a length scale 100–10 000 nm has been estimated. The fractal structure consists of an aggregation of nanosized silver particles having diameters of the order of 15 nm. Electrical conductivity of these nanoparticles shows a lowering of the effective Debye temperature as the particle size is reduced.