Many catalytic systems show interesting metal-support interactions. However, the complexity of typical supported catalyst systems makes it difficult to isolate these effects. Successive Ionic Layer Deposition (SILD) enables the synthesis of model systems where well-defined monolayers and multilayers of active species can be deposited on high surface area supports. In this case, one of the key issues is conformal deposition, a synthesis feature difficult to achieve in conventional thin film model catalysts.

Successive Ionic Layer Deposition (SILD) is an aqueous technique to synthesize thin films on a substrate in a layer-by-layer fashion. In principle, monolayers of aqueous cations and anions are sequentially adsorbed on the substrate thereby forming SILD nanolayers. The parameter space of tunable variables available for SILD allows for significant control over the chemistry and morphology at the nanometer scale. This flexibility enables production of multicomponent thin films at mild conditions with simple hardware on planar and nonplanar surfaces.

In this paper the SILD of catalyst support materials such as ceria and zirconia was performed on substrates such as silicon wafers. The support materials were characterized using techniques such as Atomic Force Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy.