Researchers have found an easy way to deposit metal nanoparticles on a surface — using sticky tape.

Adding nanoparticles to a surface can give it properties such as electrical conductivity. Bartosz Grzybowski at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and his colleagues showed that when commercial Scotch tape is peeled away, bonds within the tape polymer break and radicals form on its surface. These then react with metal salts to produce metal nanoparticles on the tape.

When the team placed peeled tape into a solution of silver nitrate for several hours, the tape turned yellow-orange — indicating that silver nanoparticles had formed. The silver-coated tape showed antibacterial activity and remained sticky.

J. Am. Chem. Soc. http://doi.org/zzn (2015)