Enhanced electrical conductivity of Au–LaNiO3 nanocomposite thin films by chemical solution deposition

Abstract

Au–LaNiO₃ (Au–LNO) nanocomposite films with 3.84 at% Au were firstly fabricated by one-step chemical solution deposition (CSD), and their electrical properties were investigated. Au nanoparticles with average size of approximately 10 nm were distributed uniformly in the LNO matrix. The nanocomposite films exhibit much lower room temperature resistivity (313 μΩ cm) than the LNO films (1221 μΩ cm). The role of Au nanoparticles in the composite films can be considered from two aspects: firstly, the uniform distribution of Au nanoparticles provides a pathway with less scattering for the conduction of electrons. Secondly, Au nanoparticles can serve as nuclei seeds for the perovskite LNO phase to improve its crystalline quality. Transport property measurement reveals that the Au–LNO nanocomposite films exhibit a lower metal-insulator transition (MIT) temperature and suppression of weak localization due to the lower concentration of oxygen vacancy. The high-quality Au–LNO nanocomposite films with the excellent electrical conductivity are expected to be applicable as electrodes for ferroelectric and multiferroic films.