Surface area breakdown time, effect

It is notable that the gold nanoparticle concentration in the nanocomposite film is about 30 times lower than that of previously reported polymer/gold nanoshell systems. This can be explained by the particle size effect. As the size of particles decreases and approaches the nanometer scale, the surface area of the particles increases dramatically, and the nanoparticles act as effective scavengers of the polymer triplet state. This behavior is very important with regard to the use of the polymer/nanoparticles nanocomposite film as the active layer of PLEDs. Due to the high conductivity of gold nanoparticles, the injected electrons from the cathode can be transported directly to the anode resulting in the diode breakdown. As the nanoparticle volume fraction in the polymer increases, the device stability will decrease. 

Over a period of time the coating will break down and deteriorate as a result of the effect of the environment. Scheduled inspections should be made to determine the extent and rate of the coating breakdown. Spot touchup repair should be made at localized areas of failure before deterioration of the entire coated surface has taken place. 

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