Formation and applications of polymer films with gas-phase aggregated nanoparticles: A brief review

Nanoparticles (NP) of different types, especially metal ones, are of high interest for research and industry due to a wide spectrum of unique physical and chemical properties. Among various synthesis methods, the gas-phase aggregation of clusters/NPs is a technique providing a number of advantages in tailoring the composition, structure and spatial arrangement of materials on the nanoscale. Depositing or embedding the NPs on/in polymer films can improve the key functional properties and bring additional convenience in practical use. Therefore, there has been an active research on the development of such composite films in the past decade. The paper overviews the main approaches for covering and filling the thin polymer films with NPs produced by gas aggregation sources and provide brief review on several application areas of such composite materials, where the capabilities to control surface roughness, wettability, optical and electrical properties play an important role. The review is finalized by the discussion of current challenges of the method and prospective ways of the development.