Structural evolution of silicone oil liquid exposed to Ar plasma

Structure properties of silicone oil serving as a liquid substrate exposed to Ar plasma are investigated in this paper. Under the action of energetic Ar ions, the surface of silicone oil liquid substrate exhibits a branch-like fractal aggregation structure, which is related to the structure evolution of silicone oil liquid from Si–O chain to Si–O network. The radicals from the dissociation of silicone oil molecule into the Ar plasma turns the plasma into a reactive environment. Therefore, the structural evolution of silicone oil liquid substrate and the reactive radicals in the plasma space become possible factors to affect the aggregation of nanoparticles and also the structures and the compositions of nanoparticles.