Figure 5.

SAFE film formation. Schematic along with digital images showing different coating methods including (a) dipping, (b) spraying, and (c) solution-skinning. (d) Schematic shows different steps of the SAFE film formation based on the mechanism we proposed utilizing the SAFE assemblies and coating characterization: (i) a substrate exposed to a solution containing DA, PEI, silver nitrate, and PDMA at t = 0; (ii) the formation of irregularly shaped assemblies embedded with silver nanoparticles; (iii) the random deposition of assemblies forming a structurally loose film; (iv) reorganization of the film structure upon dehydration; (v) formation of the reorganized assemblies with a highly integrated and dense structure. (e) ATR-FTIR spectrum of the SAFE coating, spectrum of PDMA alone, and the spectrum resulting from the subtraction of SAFE spectrum from “control Ag” spectrum, denoted Sub (SAFE – “control Ag”).