Coupled chemical reactions in dynamic nanometric confinement: III. Electronic characterization of Ag₂O membranes within etched tracks and of their precursor structures

Since about half a century, it is known that the transition of swift heavy ions through thin polymer foils leaves a trail of radiochemical and structural damage behind-the so-called latent tracks-that can easily be removed by adequate etchants, thus creating nanopores, the so-called etched tracks [1]. With a previously developed strategy, it is also possible to create nanopores with central membranes embedded therein, thus separating the pores into two independent individual adjacent compartments (part I of this series [2]). The membranes can consist of, for example, Ag₂O [2] or other materials such as LiF, CaO, or BaCO₃ (to be published). In the same way as normal etched tracks can be filled with various materials of interest for electronics [3-9], medicine [10], or biosensing [11-19], also these nanopores with central membranes can be used for various applications. That will be treated in the next paper of this series.