Electrostatic coating of metal thin layers with adjustable film properties

A method of tuning one or more optical properties, electrical properties, or morphological properties of a conformal metal layer formed on a surface of a substrate, the method comprising steps of:

• contacting said surface with a nonaqueous solution;
• wherein said surface has a net positive charge;
• and wherein said nonaqueous solution comprises a nonaqueous polar solvent, a metal particle precursor and an ionic liquid;
• generating a plurality of metal nanoparticles in said nonaqueous solution in contact with said surface, wherein said metal nanoparticles are at least partially coated with a negatively charged outer layer comprising said ionic liquid or a reaction product thereof;
• and
• depositing said metal nanoparticles onto said surface, thereby forming said conformal metal layer,
• wherein the one or more optical properties, electrical properties, or morphological properties of the conformal metal layer are tuned to a desired level by adjusting the concentration of the ionic liquid in the nonaqueous solution during the generating step, deposition step, or both, to an ionic liquid concentration corresponding to the desired one or more optical properties, electrical properties, or morphological properties;
• wherein the optical properties, electrical properties, or morphological properties include one or more of electrical conductivity, light absorbance, photoluminescence, presence and amount of voids, surface roughness, and interparticle interactions.