Laser-induced growth and reformation of gold and silver nanoparticles

The sizes, shapes, and growth rates of gold and silver nanoparticles stabilized with polyvinylpyrrolidone in water can be controlled by using picosecond laser pulses. The nucleation of small metal clusters formed with NaBH₄ addition to produce nanoparticles takes two months with aging but 30 min with laser irradiation. Laser pulses can also induce nanoparticles to have narrow size and shape distribution or to undergo aggregation into much larger particles. The latter process is more likely found when the metal is silver or the irradiation wavelength is short. Laser-induced growth and shape transformation processes are explained in terms of BH₄ ⁻ depletion, metal fusion, and electron ejection followed by disintegration.     

金/银纳米颗粒对Eu掺杂薄膜发光特性影响的研究

本文将三种金属纳米颗粒(球形银纳米颗粒、三角形银纳米薄片和三角形金纳米薄片)分别置于Eu(TTFA)3掺杂的Su8薄膜上研究了它们对铕配合物薄膜发光的影响.结果显示,金属纳米颗粒的局域等离子体共振(LSPR)谱对薄膜发光有很好的调控作用.对于LSPR谱分别与铕配合物激发谱和辐射谱重叠较好的球形和三角形两种银颗粒,相比于未放置颗粒时薄膜的发光,放置有颗粒的发光有明显的增强,其中球形银颗粒的样品的发光增强效果更为明显.而对于LSPR谱与铕配合物激发谱和辐射谱都不重叠的三角形片状金颗粒,该颗粒对样品的发光则起到了猝灭作用.     

Effect of a thioalkane capping layer on the first hyperpolarizabilities of gold and silver nanoparticles

We have measured the first hyperpolarizabilities of thioalkane capped silver and gold metallic nanoparticles. The values found are β(AgC 12-10 nm) = (2.10 ± 0.23) × 10(-26) esu for 10 nm diameter silver nanoparticles and β(AuC 18-18 nm) = (3.37 ± 0.08) × 10(-26) esu for 18 nm diameter gold nanoparticles at the fundamental wavelength of 784 nm. By comparison to the corresponding values reported for citrate capped silver and gold metallic nanoparticles, after size corrections, decreases by factors of 4.3 and 6.5 respectively are observed. These decreases are tentatively attributed to the bonds formed between the gold and silver surface atoms and the sulfur atoms of the capping layer.     

Synergistic effect of silver seeds and organic modifiers on the morphology evolution mechanism of silver nanoparticles

Triangular, truncated triangular, quadrangular, hexagonal, and net-structured silver nanoplates as well as decahedral silver nanoparticles were manipulatively prepared starting from silver nitrate and silver seeds in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), and Tween 80 at room temperature, respectively. UV-vis spectroscopy, XRD, HRTEM, SAED, and FTIR were used to illustrate the crystal growth process and to characterize the resultant silver nanoparticles. It was found that the silver seeds and organic modifiers synergistically affected the morphology evolution of the silver nanoparticles. The co-presence of silver seeds and PEG was beneficial to the formation of triangular and truncated triangular silver nanoplates; the silver seeds and PVP favored the formation of polygonal silver nanoplates; the silver seeds and Tween 80 preferred to the formation of net-structured silver plates. The morphology evolution of the resultant silver nanoparticles was correlated with the crystallinity of the silver seeds and the adsorption ability of the organic modifiers on the crystal surfaces.     

Light coupling and directional emission of spherical gold nanoparticles as nanosensors

Optical and Quantum Electronics - In this paper we model accurately spherical gold nano particle (GNP) excited by plane wave sources. The single GNP behaves as an electromagnetic radiator able to...     

Phyllanthin-assisted biosynthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles: a novel biological approach

Abstract  The anisotropic gold and spherical–quasi-spherical silver nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by reducing aqueous chloroauric acid (HAuCl₄) and silver nitrate (AgNO₃) solution with the extract of phyllanthin at room temperature. The rate of reduction of HAuCl₄ is greater than the AgNO₃ at constant amount of phyllanthin extract. The size and shape of the NPs can be controlled by varying the concentration of phyllanthin extract and thereby to tune their optical properties in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The case of low concentration of extract with HAuCl₄ offers slow reduction rate along with the aid of electron-donating group containing extract leads to formation of hexagonal- or triangular-shaped gold NPs. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed that the shape changes on the gold NPs from hexagonal to spherical particles with increasing initial concentration of phyllanthin extract. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analyses reveal that the interaction between NPs and phyllanthin extract. The cyclic voltammograms of silver and gold NPs confirms the conversion of higher oxidation state to zero oxidation state. Graphical abstract  Anisotropic gold and silver nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple procedure using phyllanthin extract as reducing agent. The rate of bioreduction of AgNO₃ is lower than the HAuCl₄ at constant concentration of phyllanthin extract. The required size of the nanoparticles can be prepared by varying the concentration of phyllanthin with AgNO₃ and HAuCl₄.      

Concentration of energy inside laser-irradiated gold and silver plasmon nanoparticles in air

We simulated laser-intensity distribution inside spherical gold and silver nanoparticles with radii between 10 and 100 nm, which are exposed to laser radiation at 400, 532, and 800 nm in air, and analyzed the results. The effect of high energy concentration inside illuminated (front) and shadowed (back) hemispheres of gold and silver nanoparticles is established for several nanoparticle sizes and laser wavelengths. The results can be used in nanophotonics of new plasmon devices (concentrators, antennas, etc.) and photon components.     

Magnetization in uniaxial spherical nanoparticles: Consequence on the interparticle interaction

We investigate the interaction between spherical magnetic nanoparticles which present either a single domain or a vortex structure. First the magnetic structure of a uniaxial soft sphere is revisited, and then the interaction energy is calculated from a micromagnetic simulation. In the vortex regime the orientation of the vortex relative to the easy axis depends on both the particle size and the anisotropy constant. We show that the leading term of the interaction is the dipolar interaction energy between the magnetic moments. For particles presenting a vortex structure, we show that the polarization due to the dipolar field must be included. The parameters entering in the dipolar interaction are deduced from the magnetic behavior of the isolated particle.     

The effect of concentration on the thermo-optical properties of colloidal silver nanoparticles

The thermo-optical properties of colloidal silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are investigated under a low power laser irradiation at 532 nm. Colloidal AgNPs are synthesized by nanosecond pulsed laser ablation of a pure silver plate in distilled water. The morphology and size of the AgNPs are determined by transmission electron microscopy. Closed Z-scan measurements reveal that nonlocal thermo-optic process is responsible for the nonlinear refractive index of colloid containing different concentrations of silver nanoparticles. The Z-scan behavior of the nanoparticle samples has been investigated based on a nonlocal thermo-optic process and it is shown that the aberrant thermal lens model is in excellent agreement with the experimental results. Z-scan measurement fits have allowed the values of nonlinear refractive index (n₂) and thermo-optic coefficients (dn/dt) to be determined at different concentrations of silver nanoparticles. Large enhancement factors were measured for values of n₂ and dn/dt of the colloids at higher silver nanoparticle volume fraction. Our results suggest that nonlocal thermal nonlinear processes will play an important role in the development of photonic applications involving metal nanoparticle colloids.     

银纳米颗粒阵列的表面增强拉曼散射效应研究

利用具有高密度拉曼热点的金属纳米结构作为表面增强拉曼散射(SERS)基底,可以显著增强吸附分子的拉曼信号.本文通过阳极氧化铝模板辅助电化学法沉积制备了高密度银(Ag)纳米颗粒阵列;利用扫描电子显微镜和反射谱表征了样品的结构形貌和表面等离激元特性;用1, 4-苯二硫醇(1, 4-BDT)为拉曼探针分子,研究了Ag纳米颗粒阵列的SERS效应.通过优化沉积时间,制备出高SERS探测灵敏度的Ag纳米颗粒阵列,检测极限可达10~(-13)mol/L;时域有限差分法模拟结果证实了纳米颗粒间存在强的等离激元耦合作用,且发现纳米颗粒底端的局域场增强更大.研究结果表明Ag纳米颗粒阵列可作为高效的SERS基底.     

Optical and electrophysical properties of nanocomposites based on PEDOT: PSS and gold/silver nanoparticles

The absorption spectra in the visible region and current-voltage characteristics in a wide range of electric fields have been investigated at the macroscopic level (planar structures) and at the microscopic level (using a conductive atomic force microscope) in films based on the electroactive polymer PEDOT: PSS and gold/silver nanoparticles (PEDOT: PSS + Au/AgNP). It has been shown that the behavior of the current-voltage characteristics of the nanocomposite films depends significantly on the electric field strength. It has been found that the introduction of gold nanoparticles into PEDOT: PSS in weak electric fields leads to an increase in the bulk conductance by almost two orders of magnitude (due to donor-acceptor interactions), a 50% decrease in the conduction activation energy, and an increase in the sensitivity to adsorbed oxygen. It has been demonstrated that electrical conduction of PEDOT: PSS + AuNP films is provided by hopping charge transfer both in the system of intrinsic localized states and in the system of impurity states of adsorbed oxygen. In strong electric fields, the current-voltage characteristics exhibit a different behavior in the forward and reverse scanning modes.     

Triazene UV-triggered photogeneration of silver/gold nanoparticles in block copolymer templates

Journal of Nanoparticle Research - Synthesis of yttrium oxide nanoparticles in a specially designed radio frequency thermal plasma reactor is reported. Good crystallinity, narrow size distribution,...     

Sensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates based on anti-pyramidal gold architectures decorated with silver nanoparticles

Abstract

A micro-structured gold surface, consisting of a periodic square–based anti–pyramidal array (Klarite) with a smooth boundary surface on which silver nanoparticles (diameter: 60?nm) were deposited, produced an active surface enhanced Raman scattering substrate. With p-aminothiophenol as a probe molecule, the Raman activity of the micro–structured surface was compared before and after deposition of the silver nanoparticles. Experimental results show that the Raman spectra on the silver/p-aminothiophenol/Klarite structure is stronger than that on the silver/p-aminothiophenol/gold film and the Raman spectra on the silver/p-aminothiophenol/gold film is stronger than that on silver/p-aminothiophenol, p-aminothiophenol/Klarite structure, p-aminothiophenol/gold film, which is confirmed by numerical simulations. A similar result is obtained with crystal violet as test molecule.     

Mono and bimetallic nanoparticles of gold,silver and palladium-catalyzed NADH oxidation-coupled reduction of Eosin-Y

Abstract  

Mono metallic (Au, Ag, Pd) and bimetallic (Au–Ag, Ag–Pd, Au–Pd) with 1:1 mol stoichiometry, nanoparticles are synthesized using one-pot, temperature controlled chemical method using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the capping agent. The particle sizes (Au = 5.6, Ag = 5.0, Pd = 6.0, Au–Ag = 9.2, Ag–Pd = 9.6, Au–Pd = 9.4 nm) are characterized by UV–Vis, HRTEM, and XRD measurements, respectively. CTAB bindings onto mono and bimetallic nanoparticles are analyzed by FTIR spectra. The catalytic activities of mono and bimetallic nanoparticles are tested on the reaction between NADH oxidation and Eosin-Y reduction. The effects of base, pH, ionic strength, nature of mono and bimetallic catalysts are studied and the reaction conditions are optimized. Bimetallic nanoparticles exhibited better catalysis than the mono metallic nanoparticles, which may be due to the electronic effects of the core to shell metal atoms.     

Holes drilling in gold and silver decahedral nanoparticles by the convergent beam electron diffraction electron beam

The 200?kV focused electron beam in the convergent beam electron diffraction patterns mode in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) with field emission gun is able to drill holes in gold and silver decahedral nanoparticles. However, although they are done under the same circumstances, the holes are shapeless in the silver and faceted in gold nanoparticles. In addition to this, the holes are closed during their high-resolution TEM observation in both materials. To comment their differences, displacement energy considerations are taken into account as function of the sputtering energy in order to modify the displacement cross-section of the processes.     

Functionalization of gold and silver nanoparticles with diphenyl dichalcogenides probed by surface enhanced Raman scattering

This paper describes a surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) systematic investigation regarding the functionalization of gold (Au) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles with diphenyl dichalcogenides, i.e. diphenyl disulfide, diphenyl diselenide, and diphenyl ditelluride. Our results showed that, in all cases, functionalization took place with the cleavage of the chalcogen–chalcogen bond on the surface of the metal. According to our density functional theory calculations, the molecules assumed a tilted orientation with respect to the metal surface for both Au and Ag, in which the angle of the phenyl ring relative to the metallic surface decreased as the mass of the chalcogen atom increased. The detected differences in the ordinary Raman and SERS spectra were assigned to the distinct stretching frequencies of the carbon–chalcogen bond and its relative contribution to the ring vibrational modes. In addition, the SERS spectra showed that there was no significant interaction between the phenyl ring and the surface, in agreement with the tilted orientation observed from our density functional theory calculations. The results described herein indicate that diphenyl dichalcogenides can be successfully employed as starting materials for the functionalization of Au nanoparticles with organosulfur, organoselenium, and organotellurium compounds. On the other hand, diphenyl disulfide and diphenyl diselenide could be employed for the functionalization of Ag nanoparticles, while the partial oxidation of the organotellurium unit could be detected on the Ag surface. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.