New Observation On Thin Discontinuous Metal-Films

It is shown from the capacitance-voltage curves of metal-insulator-semiconductor structures that molecular species in an electrolyte interact with thin discontinuous, hydrophobic platinum films in a way similar to that in a gas phase. It is suggested that this is due to the presence of air volumes in the cracks of the discontinuous metal. This suggestion is supported by theoretical models for the wetting of thin films. The observation may have implications for the use of thin metal layers as the sensing material in chemical sensors for molecular species in solutions.