Plasmon-Driven Synthesis of Triangular Core–Shell Nanoprisms from Gold Seeds

Gold Triangular Nanoprisms: Anisotropic Plasmonic Materials with Unique Structures and Properties

As a novel type of anisotropic inorganic nanomaterials, gold triangular nanoprisms (AuTNPs) have been widely studied for their well-defined structures and excellent plasmonic properties. This review starts with synthetic methodology, combing through the early thermal solution method to the mature seed-mediated method and seedless method. The possible mechanisms proposed by predecessors and the problems needed to be solved are also arranged. Along with this, the important morphological evolution process of AuTNPs during synthesis and post-synthesis stages are revealed, which is of great significance for further understanding the structure of AuTNPs and developing new synthesis strategies. Finally, the applications of AuTNPs, especially associated with plasmonic properties, are listed and summarized where surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), catalysis, phototherapy and biosensor are included, so that researchers can quickly comprehend the current situation, and provide a basis for further development and exploration of AuTNPs.

Seed-Mediated Growth of Colloidal Metal Nanocrystals

Seed-mediated growth is a powerful and versatile approach for the synthesis of colloidal metal nanocrystals. The vast allure of this approach mainly stems from the staggering degree of control one can achieve over the size, shape, composition, and structure of nanocrystals. These parameters not only control the properties of nanocrystals but also determine their relevance to, and performance in, various applications. The ingenuity and artistry inherent to seed-mediated growth offer extensive promise, enhancing a number of existing applications and opening the door to new developments. This Review demonstrates how the diversity of metal nanocrystals can be expanded with endless opportunities by using seeds with well-defined and controllable internal structures in conjunction with a proper combination of capping agent and reduction kinetics. New capabilities and future directions are also highlighted.

Light-induced reduction of silver ions to silver nanoparticles in aquatic environments by microbial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)

Microbial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) widely exist in natural environments and affect the migration and transformation of pollutants in aquatic environments. Previous works report that EPS have some reducing functional groups and can reduce heavy metals. However, because of the weak reducing capability of EPS, the reduction of heavy metals by EPS without cells is extremely slow, and its effect on heavy metals species is insignificant. In this work, the accelerated reduction of silver ions (Ag⁺) by EPS from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 under illumination was investigated. UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) coupled with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to confirm the formation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) via the reduction of Ag⁺ by EPS under light illumination. The Ag⁺ reduction by EPS follows pseudo-first-order kinetics under both visible and UV light, and the light irradiation can significantly accelerate AgNPs formation. On the one hand, visible light can excite AgNPs for their surface plasma resonance (SPR) and accelerate the electrons from the EPS to adjacent Ag⁺. On the other hand, EPS molecules may be excited by UV light to produce strong reducing species, which enhance Ag⁺ reduction. Moreover, pH, dissolved oxygen were found to affect the formation of AgNPs by EPS. This work proves the reducing capability of EPS on the reduction of Ag⁺, and this process can be accelerated under light illumination, which may affect the speciation and transformation of heavy metals in natural waters.

Thin metal nanostructures: synthesis, properties and applications

Two-dimensional nanomaterials, especially graphene and single- or few-layer transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets, have attracted great research interest in recent years due to their distinctive physical, chemical and electronic properties as well as their great potentials for a broad range of applications. Recently, great efforts have also been devoted to the controlled synthesis of thin nanostructures of metals, one of the most studied traditional materials, for various applications. In this minireview, we review the recent progress in the synthesis and applications of thin metal nanostructures with a focus on metal nanoplates and nanosheets. First of all, various methods for the synthesis of metal nanoplates and nanosheets are summarized. After a brief introduction of their properties, some applications of metal nanoplates and nanosheets, such as catalysis, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), sensing and near-infrared photothermal therapy are described.

The influence of edge and corner evolution on plasmon properties and resonant edge effect in gold nanoplatelets

In this paper a simulation of the properties of surface plasmons on gold nanoplatelets with various cross-sections inscribed in a circle and an investigation of their field distributions to assign multiple SPRs are described. The manipulated propagation can be obtained through the evolution of edges and corners. Furthermore, the particle morphology and the associated spectral positions alone do not uniquely reflect the important details of the local field distribution or the resonance modes. The plasmon modes were investigated and found to be mainly excited along the edges and in the side and sloped side surfaces. The strong field distributions can generally be found around the corners and how the plasmons transmit through the corners to adjacent edges was also investigated. Besides the plasmons excited along the edges as were found for the triangular nanoplatelets, plasmons were excited in the interior region of the triangular surfaces and were also investigated. Despite this in the infrared region, plasmon modes were found to be along the edges for the hexagonal nanoplatelets. Also, it can be seen that the change of nanoplatelet thickness can support different plasmon modes ranging from dipolar resonance mode to quadrupole resonance mode. The thickness far below the skin depth can display complex plasmon modes along the edges and on the side and sloping side surfaces as well as the strong coupling between the top and bottom surfaces. The observed plasmon resonance modes in this simulation reflect the interference of all these contributions including the plasmons along the edges and on the side surfaces. This is an essential step towards a thorough understanding of plasmon modes and the effect of edge and corner evolution in polygonous nanoplatelets.

Effect of Temperature on the Growth of Silver Nanoparticles Using Plasmon-Mediated Method under the Irradiation of Green LEDs

Plasmon-mediated shape conversion of spherical silver nanoparticles (NPs) to nanostructures with other shapes under the irradiation of green LEDs (520 ± 20 nm, 35 mw/cm²) at various temperatures (60, 40, 20, 10, 5, and 0 °C) was performed in this study. It was found that the bath temperature used in the reaction can influence the reaction rates, i.e., the times needed for the shape transformation process were 5, 11.5, 25, 45, 72, and 100 h at 60, 40, 20, 10, 5, and 0 °C, respectively. In addition, the bath temperature can also alter the morphologies of the final products. The major products are silver nanoplates at 60, 40 and 20 °C. However, they became decahedral silver NPs at 5 and 0 °C. The percentages of decahedral silver NPs synthesized at 60, 40, 20, 10, 5, and 0 °C are 0%, 1%, 5%, 45%, 73%, and 89%, respectively. Measuring the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) spectra of the probe molecule R6G in the presence of KBr showed that both silver nanoplate colloids synthesized at 60 °C and decahedral silver NP colloids synthesized at 0 °C in the absence of PVP had good SERS activities.

Fabrication of Au@Ag core-shell nanoparticles using polyelectrolyte multilayers as nanoreactors

A new synthetic strategy has been developed for the fabrication of Au-Ag bimetallic core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) using polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) as unique nanoreactors. Bimetallic NPs composed of Au core and Ag shell were successively incorporated into PEMs by repeating anion/cation exchange/reduction cycle multiple times in a stepwise manner. The strategy described here allows for the facile preparation of Au@Ag core-shell NPs with well-controlled core and shell dimensions and geometrically tunable optical properties by simply varying the number of ion-exchange/reduction cycles in the PEM matrix. The strategy can be extended to synthesize in situ other core-shell NPs in polymer matrix.

Core-shell triangular bifrustums

Au(core)-Ag(shell) triangular bifrustum nanocrystals were synthesized in aqueous solution using a seed-mediated approach. The formation of the Ag layer on the Au nanoprism seeds leads to structures with highly tunable dipole and quadrupole surface plasmon resonances. Discrete dipole approximation calculations show that it is the geometry of these novel structures rather than the addition of a new element that leads to the plasmon tunability. The structure and composition of these novel nanocrystals have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive spectrometry.

Shape-controlled synthesis of metal nanocrystals: simple chemistry meets complex physics?

Nanocrystals are fundamental to modern science and technology. Mastery over the shape of a nanocrystal enables control of its properties and enhancement of its usefulness for a given application. Our aim is to present a comprehensive review of current research activities that center on the shape-controlled synthesis of metal nanocrystals. We begin with a brief introduction to nucleation and growth within the context of metal nanocrystal synthesis, followed by a discussion of the possible shapes that a metal nanocrystal might take under different conditions. We then focus on a variety of experimental parameters that have been explored to manipulate the nucleation and growth of metal nanocrystals in solution-phase syntheses in an effort to generate specific shapes. We then elaborate on these approaches by selecting examples in which there is already reasonable understanding for the observed shape control or at least the protocols have proven to be reproducible and controllable. Finally, we highlight a number of applications that have been enabled and/or enhanced by the shape-controlled synthesis of metal nanocrystals. We conclude this article with personal perspectives on the directions toward which future research in this field might take.