Fig. 2 shows an in-plane TEM micrograph (a) and a selected area
electron diffraction (SAED) pattern (b) for the TiO2/Ag0.15–(SiO2)0.85
thin film. As shown in TEM image (Fig. 2(a)), the Ag NPs in the
composite film are almost in a spherical structure with a uniform
diameter of 10–30 nm (see insert graph in Fig. 2(a)) and dispersed
uniformly in the matrix. The SAED pattern of the composite film
(Fig. 2(b)) shows the characteristic diffraction rings of polycrystalline
metallic Ag and anatase–TiO2 respectively, indicating that the
thin film contains the cubic Ag and anatase–TiO2, which is well
match to the XRD results.
Fig. 3 shows a high-magnification