Morphological Transformation of Self-Assembled Platinum Nanodots on Isopropanol-Modified Quartz Substrate via Thermal Dewetting

Nopparat Seemuang, Reungruthai Sirirak, Potejanasak Potejana

Abstract

The controlled fabrication of platinum (Pt) nanodots on quartz substrates has attracted considerable attention for advanced applications in plasmonics, biosensing, catalysis, and nanoelectronic devices. In this study, the morphological transformation of thermally dewetted Pt thin films deposited on untreated and isopropanol (IPA)-modified quartz substrates was systematically investigated. Pt thin films with a thickness of approximately 10 nm were deposited using a sputter coating technique and subsequently annealed at temperatures ranging from 400 °C to 700 °C. The thermal dewetting behavior and morphological evolution of Pt nanostructures were systematically examined through hot stage-assisted in situ thermal annealing integrated with field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), combined with ImageJ-based quantitative surface coverage analysis. The results demonstrated that annealing temperature and substrate surface condition strongly influenced the dewetting behavior and final morphology of the Pt nanostructures. At lower annealing temperatures, the Pt films exhibited limited atomic diffusion and irregular fragmented structures, whereas higher temperatures promoted film breakup and the formation of isolated Pt nanodots. A significant difference in morphological evolution was observed between untreated and IPA-treated substrates. The untreated substrate retained partially interconnected Pt domains even at high annealing temperatures, indicating incomplete dewetting behavior. In contrast, the IPA-treated substrate facilitated the formation of smaller, more uniformly distributed, and well-separated Pt nanodots with reduced surface coverage, suggesting enhanced thermal dewetting and improved nanoparticle uniformity. In addition, absorbance spectra measurements revealed morphology-dependent optical responses associated with variations in Pt nanostructure size and particle distribution. The Pt nanodots formed on the IPA-treated substrate exhibited a higher, steeper absorbance peak than those formed on the untreated substrate, indicating improved nanoparticle uniformity and enhanced morphology-dependent optical interactions after thermal dewetting. The experimental results in this study clearly demonstrate the effect of IPA surface treatment on the morphological transformation and dewetting behavior of Pt thin films.

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DOI: 10.14416/j.asep.2026.07.007

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