Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) with magnetron sputtering (MS) is an easy and versatile route to fabricate nanocolumnar films in large areas (several cm2 and above) in a single-step process, in clear contrast to other techniques in the nanoscale range such as e-beam lithography and ion-beam lithography. The morphology of the nanocolumns can be controlled depending on several parameters such as the gas pressure, the angle of inclination of the substrate and its possible rotation, the electromagnetic power, the deposition time, and the optional use of collimating masks [1-4]. Moreover, as GLAD with MS it is usually carried out at RT and does not involve chemical products (thus, without associated recycling issues), this technique is environmentally friendly. In this talk, I will start explaining the fundamentals of GLAD with MS and then I will present some recent examples of nanocolumnar films that are of interest in the field of energy and environment: Gold nanocolumnar templates for effective chemical sensing by surface-enhanced Raman scattering [5], Iron nanocolumnar films with tailored magnetic behavior [6], and Titanium oxide nanocolumnar films that exhibit photo‐induced self‐cleaning properties [7]. It will be finally shown that this latter effect can be enhanced when the nanocolumns are decorated with gold nanoparticles using a gas aggregation source that is also based on MS. References:[1] R. Alvarez et al., Nanotechnology 24, 045604 (2013). [2] R. Alvarez et al., J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 49, 045303 (2016). [3] A. Vitrey et al., Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 8, 434 (2017).[4] G. Troncoso et al., Appl. Surf. Sci. 526, 146699 (2020).[5] G. Barbillon et al., Nanomaterials 12, 4157 (2022).[6] E. Navarro et al., Nanomaterials 12, 1186 (2022).[7] F. Fresno et al., Adv. Sustainable Syst. 5, 2100071 (2021).

Resumen del trabajo presentado en el CMD30-FisMat 2023 celebrado en Milán (Italia), del 4 al 8 de septiembre de 2023