Morphological features of micro- and nanoporous silver and copper films synthesized by the substitution reaction method

The results of a study of the structural features of thin silver and copper films synthesized by the chemical substitution reaction are presented. Silver films were obtained by immersing copper substrates in a solution of silver nitrate. Copper films were synthesized by immersing iron and tin-plated iron substrates in a copper sulfate solution. The study of the morphology and composition of the synthesized layers was carried out using a scanning electron microscope. It has been shown that metal nanoporous layers up to 1 $\mu$m thick are formed on the substrates as early as 2–3 s after the start of the reaction. The layers consist of microcrystalline hexagonal plates and micro- and nanodendrites. As the reaction time increases, the layers become denser. In this case, the minimum pore size is 20 nm. The synthesized nanoporous films can be used for photocatalytic decomposition of water and enhancement of Raman scattering.