Nanodisks of Au and Ag produced by laser ablation in liquid environment

Fundamentals and comprehensive insights on pulsed laser synthesis of advanced materials for diverse photo- and electrocatalytic applications

The global energy crisis is increasing the demand for innovative materials with high purity and functionality for the development of clean energy production and storage. The development of novel photo- and electrocatalysts significantly depends on synthetic techniques that facilitate the production of tailored advanced nanomaterials. The emerging use of pulsed laser in liquid synthesis has attracted immense interest as an effective synthetic technology with several advantages over conventional chemical and physical synthetic routes, including the fine-tuning of size, composition, surface, and crystalline structures, and defect densities and is associated with the catalytic, electronic, thermal, optical, and mechanical properties of the produced nanomaterials. Herein, we present an overview of the fundamental understanding and importance of the pulsed laser process, namely various roles and mechanisms involved in the production of various types of nanomaterials, such as metal nanoparticles, oxides, non-oxides, and carbon-based materials. We mainly cover the advancement of photo- and electrocatalytic nanomaterials via pulsed laser-assisted technologies with detailed mechanistic insights and structural optimization along with effective catalytic performances in various energy and environmental remediation processes. Finally, the future directions and challenges of pulsed laser techniques are briefly underlined. This review can exert practical guidance for the future design and fabrication of innovative pulsed laser-induced nanomaterials with fascinating properties for advanced catalysis applications.

One Step Production of Silver-Copper (AgCu) Nanoparticles

AgCu nanoparticles were prepared through hydrogen-reduction-assisted Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis (USP) and the Hydrogen Reduction (HR) method. The changes in the morphology and crystal structure of nanoparticles were studied using different concentrated precursors. The structure and morphology of the mixed crystalline particles were characterized through X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The average particle size decreased from 364 nm to 224 nm by reducing the initial solution concentration from 0.05 M to 0.4 M. These results indicate that the increase in concentration also increases the grain size. Antibacterial properties of nanoparticles against Escherichia coli were investigated. The obtained results indicate that produced particles show antibacterial activity (100%). The AgCu nanoparticles have the usage potential in different areas of the industry.

Development and application of photoconversion fluoropolymer films for greenhouses located at high or polar latitudes

To convert and store energy in the process of photosynthesis, plants primarily use quanta of the red and blue parts of the spectrum. At high latitudes, the average daily intensity of red and blue parts of the spectrum is not very high; for many crops cultivated under greenhouse conditions, it reaches the sufficient level only on clear summer days. The problem of insufficient illumination in greenhouses is usually solved with artificial light sources. This article describes a technology for the manufacture of photoconversion fluoropolymer films for greenhouses. The fluoropolymer films described in the paper make use of original gold nanoparticles and nanoparticles with fluorescence in the blue or red region of the spectrum. In the polymer film, nanoparticles aggregate in the form of "beads", which enhances the field of the optical wave. The film photoconverts UV and violet light into blue and red light. Gold nanoparticles also partially convert energy in the green region of the spectrum (not used by plants) into heat, which is also important for agriculture at high latitudes. In addition, impregnation of gold nanoparticles into fluoropolymer significantly increases the lifetime of the film. The films described in the paper can significantly increase the productivity of greenhouses located at high latitudes. Plants cultivated under the films have more chlorophyll and a higher intensity of photosynthesis - although their system of distance stress signals is, to a certain degree, suppressed.

New Proposal for Size and Size-Distribution Evaluation of Nanoparticles Synthesized via Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis Using Search Algorithm Based on Image-Processing Technique

Nanoparticle properties are correlated to their size, size distribution, and shape; it is essential to accurately measure these features in the field of nanoscience. In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized with the ultrasonic-spray-pyrolysis (USP) method from a water solution of silver nitrate. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) analysis and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to reveal their size and size distribution. A search algorithm based on an image-processing technique to obtain particle size and particle-size distribution from SEM micrographs is proposed. In order to obtain more quantitative information and data with respect to the morphology of particles synthesized under different process parameters, SEM micrographs with a nonhomogeneous background contrast were examined via image-processing techniques in MATLAB. Due to the inhomogeneous contrast of SEM micrographs, defining an overall threshold value was insufficient in the detection of whole nanoparticles. Thus, subimages were directly created according to the maximum and minimum particle size specified by the user to determine local threshold values. The obtained results were automatically combined to represent both particle dimension and location in the SEM micrographs. We confirmed that the results of our DLS analysis, theoretical calculation, and image-processing technique were correlated with our expected results.

The Pros and Cons of the Use of Laser Ablation Synthesis for the Production of Silver Nano-Antimicrobials

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are well-known for their antimicrobial effects and several groups are proposing them as active agents to fight antimicrobial resistance. A wide variety of methods is available for nanoparticle synthesis, affording a broad spectrum of chemical and physical properties. In this work, we report on AgNPs produced by laser ablation synthesis in solution (LASiS), discussing the major features of this approach. Laser ablation synthesis is one of the best candidates, as compared to wet-chemical syntheses, for preparing Ag nano-antimicrobials. In fact, this method allows the preparation of stable Ag colloids in pure solvents without using either capping and stabilizing agents or reductants. LASiS produces AgNPs, which can be more suitable for medical and food-related applications where it is important to use non-toxic chemicals and materials for humans. In addition, laser ablation allows for achieving nanoparticles with different properties according to experimental laser parameters, thus influencing antibacterial mechanisms. However, the concentration obtained by laser-generated AgNP colloids is often low, and it is hard to implement them on an industrial scale. To obtain interesting concentrations for final applications, it is necessary to exploit high-energy lasers, which are quite expensive. In this review, we discuss the pros and cons of the use of laser ablation synthesis for the production of Ag antimicrobial colloids, taking into account applications in the food packaging field.

Laser Synthesis and Processing of Colloids: Fundamentals and Applications

Driven by functionality and purity demand for applications of inorganic nanoparticle colloids in optics, biology, and energy, their surface chemistry has become a topic of intensive research interest. Consequently, ligand-free colloids are ideal reference materials for evaluating the effects of surface adsorbates from the initial state for application-oriented nanointegration purposes. After two decades of development, laser synthesis and processing of colloids (LSPC) has emerged as a convenient and scalable technique for the synthesis of ligand-free nanomaterials in sealed environments. In addition to the high-purity surface of LSPC-generated nanoparticles, other strengths of LSPC include its high throughput, convenience for preparing alloys or series of doped nanomaterials, and its continuous operation mode, suitable for downstream processing. Unscreened surface charge of LSPC-synthesized colloids is the key to achieving colloidal stability and high affinity to biomolecules as well as support materials, thereby enabling the fabrication of bioconjugates and heterogeneous catalysts. Accurate size control of LSPC-synthesized materials ranging from quantum dots to submicrometer spheres and recent upscaling advancement toward the multiple-gram scale are helpful for extending the applicability of LSPC-synthesized nanomaterials to various fields. By discussing key reports on both the fundamentals and the applications related to laser ablation, fragmentation, and melting in liquids, this Article presents a timely and critical review of this emerging topic.

Facile and Chemically Pure Preparation of YVO4:Eu(3+) Colloid with Novel Nanostructure via Laser Ablation in Water

A YVO₄:Eu³⁺ colloid with an interesting nanostructure was formed by pulsed laser ablation in deionized water without any additives or surfactants. Analyses of particle morphology, composition and optical properties were accomplished by SEM, TEM, EDS PL and UV-vis. Ovoid-like particles formed by the agglomeration of numerous nanocrystals were observed by SEM and TEM, while EDS with area-mode analysis revealed that the content of dopant ion was well retained within the nanoparticles. In addition, the formation mechanism is deduced and discussed for the first time in this research. The findings of this study could provide new insights into the understanding of laser-induced oxide materials and offer an opportunity for other research groups to pursue red emitting nanophosphors with outstandingly purity.

Chemistry for oncotheranostic gold nanoparticles

This review presents in a comprehensive ways the chemical methods used to functionalize gold nanoparticles with focus on anti-cancer applications. The review covers the parameters required for the synthesis gold nanoparticles with defined shapes and sizes, method for targeted delivery in tumours, and selected examples of anti-cancers compounds delivered with gold nanoparticles. A short survey of bioassays for oncology based on gold nanoparticles is also presented.

Size-controllable synthesis of bare gold nanoparticles by femtosecond laser fragmentation in water

We report a size-controllable synthesis of stable aqueous solutions of ultrapure low-size-dispersed Au nanoparticles by methods of femtosecond laser fragmentation from preliminary formed colloids. Such approach makes possible the tuning of mean nanoparticle size between a few nm and several tens of nm under the size dispersion lower than 70% by varying the fluence of pumping radiation during the fragmentation procedure. The efficient size control is explained by 3D geometry of laser fragmentation by femtosecond laser-induced white light super-continuum and plasma-related phenomena. Despite the absence of any protective ligands, the nanoparticle solutions demonstrate exceptional stability due to electric repulsion effect associated with strong negative charging of formed nanoparticles. Stable aqueous solutions of bare gold nanoparticles present a unique object with a variety of potential applications in catalysis, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, photovoltaics, biosensing and biomedicine.

Control of Gold Nanostructure Morphology by Variation of Temperature and Reagent Ratios in the Turkevich Reaction

In this paper, we demonstrate that the Turkevich reaction can be used to obtain not only spherical gold nanoparticles of various sizes, but also nanoparticles of different morphologies. The effect of the molar ratios of citrate to HAuCl4 at various temperatures has been studied. It was found that the reagent ratio plays a significant role in defining the morphology of the gold nanosystems formed at low temperatures. This study shows that by controlling the reagent ratios and the reaction temperature of the Turkevich reaction, nano-structured gold systems with various shapes, including spheres, wires, networks, and systems comprising polygonal nanoparticles only or nanochains only, with the latter two morphologies reported for the first time, can be obtained. The gold nanosystems obtained in this fashion were characterised by transmission electron microscopy and UV–visible absorption spectroscopy.

Fabrication of gold nanoparticles by laser ablation in liquid and their application for simultaneous electrochemical detection of Cd2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, Hg2+

In this paper, we demonstrated the fabrication of high active and high sensitive Au nanoparticles by laser ablation in liquid (LAL) method, and their application in electrochemical detection of heavy metal ions. First, LAL method are used to fabricate Au nanoparticles in water in a clean way. Second, the Au nanoparticles were assembled onto the surface of the glassy carbon (GC) electrode by an electrophoretic deposition method to form an AuNPs/GC electrode for electrochemical characterization and detection. Through differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry method, it shows that the AuNPs/GC electrode could be used for the simultaneous and selective electrochemical detection of Cd(2+), Pb(2+), Cu(2+), and Hg(2+). By studying the influence of test conditions to optimize the electrochemical detection, we can detect Cd(2+), Pb(2+), Cu(2+), and Hg(2+) simultaneously with a low concentration of 3 × 10(-7) M in the experiments.

Gold cellular networks inside water-soluble sodium alginate sol

The present work demonstrates the fabrication of unique gold cellular networks inside water-soluble sodium alginate sol. In conjunction with control experiments, UV–vis spectra and TEM images structurally give a piece of robust evidence that Au(III) and sodium alginate combined with preparation parameters synergically favor the formation of gold cellular networks. From the viewpoint of green chemistry, the cheap and safe reactant sodium alginate and the friendly aqueous medium make the present method possible for applications in large-scale production of metallic cellular networks. Thus, coupled with facile and green creation, the gold cellular networks open new opportunities for noble metal nanostructures, with different morphologies, as biological labels, energy transfer pairs, and other nanoscale electronics.

Dependence of gold nanoparticle production on pulse duration by laser ablation in liquid media

The dependence on laser fluence and laser pulse duration of size, size distribution and concentration of gold nanoparticles synthesized by laser ablation in liquid media was investigated. It was demonstrated that increasing laser energy from 1 to 5 mJ/pulse enhances the ablation rate by a factor of 100. The behavior of the ablation rate, hence of the nanoparticle concentration, as a function of pulse duration (varied from 40 fs to 200 ps) was found to strongly differ from that in air, which can be explained by photoionization and important losses of laser energy in the femtosecond regime. The optimal pulse duration for maximum ablation rate in liquid media was found to be equal to 2 ps.

Tuning of the characteristics of Au nanoparticles produced by solid target laser ablation into water by changing the irradiation parameters

We report the production of Au nanoparticles with different average sizes and size distributions, by laser ablation of a solid Au target into pure deionized water. Tuning laser parameters such as pulse duration, energy, and wavelength is possible to tune the size and the size distributions of the produced nanoparticles into the liquid. We demonstrate the possibility of production of highly monodispersed colloidal solutions, in which the average nanoparticle size ranges from 3 to 10 nm, using laser pulses of ns duration. Laser ablation using fs laser pulses can also produce very small nanoparticles, although a small population of bigger nanoparticles is always present. Low and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), in combination with UV-Vis spectroscopy have been employed for the characterization of our samples.

Purification of gold nanoplates grown directly on surfaces for enhanced localized surface plasmon resonance biosensing

Here we describe the synthesis and purification of Au nanoplates grown directly on surfaces by a chemical seed-mediated growth method. The synthesis involves the attachment of 3-5 nm diameter Au nanoparticle (NP) seeds onto glass and Si/SiOx surfaces and their subsequent growth into larger Au nanostructures by the chemical reduction of AuCl4- with ascorbic acid in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). We used two different growth solutions. Growth solution 1 (GS1) led to a sample with 74% Au nanospheres and 26% Au nanoplates, while growth solution 2 (GS2), with lower CTAB and higher ascorbic acid concentration, led to 56% nanospheres and 44% nanoplates. The average wavelength of maximum extinction (lambdamax) of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) band of these samples was 549 and 627 nm, respectively. The use of adhesive tape or sonication enables the preferential removal of spherical Au nanostructures in both cases, leaving samples with >90% Au nanoplates. The average lambdamax increased to 672 nm (GS1) and 664 nm (GS2) for taped samples and 780 nm (GS1) and 720 nm (GS2) for sonicated samples, consistent with a higher purity of Au nanoplates on the surface. In all cases, the purified nanoplates vary in size and shape, including triangular, circular, or hexagonal structures, leading to broad spectra or the appearance of multiple peaks. We tuned the average lambdamax of the LSPR band of the Au nanoplate samples from 540 to 780 nm by varying the sonication time from 0 to 135 s. The change in lambdamax upon binding of anti-IgG to the edges of the purified nanoplates increases with an increasing number of anti-IgG on the edges, is 4-8 times larger compared to that of spherical nanoparticles, and is larger for samples purified by sonication compared to taping because the former has a larger initial lambdamax. A sample of Au nanoplates purified by taping and functionalized with anti-IgG at the edge sites displayed a shift in lambdamax as large as 45 nm for a 10 pg/mL solution of IgG (<1 pM).

Fabrication of sphere-like Au nanoparticles on substrate with laser irradiation and their polarized localized surface plasmon behaviors

The fabrications of sphere-like Au nanoparticles (NPs) on sapphire, GaN, and SiO(2) substrates through the irradiation of a few pulses of 266-nm laser onto Au thin films deposited on the substrates are demonstrated. The top-view diameter, contact angle on substrate, surface population density, and surface coverage percentage of the NPs can be controlled by the Au thin film thickness, laser energy density, substrate choice, and the gas or liquid, in which the Au thin film is immersed during laser irradiation. Optical transmission measurements show clear in-plane and out-of-plane localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) features, including the air resonance feature dictated by the gas or liquid immersing the NPs during transmission measurement, the in-plane substrate resonance feature controlled by the substrate material and the contact angle, and the out-of-plane resonance feature, which is strongly influenced also by the substrate material and the contact angle. Numerical simulations based on the finite-element method using the experimental parameters show highly consistent LSPR spectral positions and their variation trends. From the simulation results, one can also observe the relative importance between NP absorption and scattering in contributing to the extinction. This simple laser-irradiation method for fabricating sphere-like Au NPs of no aggregation and of strong adhesion to the substrate is useful for developing polarization-sensitive LSPR bio-sensing.

Morphology-selective synthesis of polyhedral gold nanoparticles: what factors control the size and morphology of gold nanoparticles in a wet-chemical process

Polyhedral gold nanoparticles below 100 nm in size were fabricated by continuously delivered HAuCl(4) and PVP starting solutions into l-ascorbic acid aqueous solution in the presence of gold seeds, and under addition of sodium hydroxide (NaOH). By continuously delivered PVP and HAuCl(4) starting solutions in the presence of gold seed, the size and shape of polyhedral gold were achieved in relatively good uniformity (particle size distribution=65-95 nm). Morphological evolution was also attempted using different growth rates of crystal facets with increasing reaction temperature, and selective adsorption of PVP.

Synthesis of flower-like gold nanoparticles and their electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of methanol and the reduction of oxygen

This article describes the synthesis of branched flower-like gold (Au) nanocrystals and their electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of methanol and the reduction of oxygen. Gold nanoflowers (GNFs) were obtained by a one-pot synthesis using N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N-2-ethanesulphonic acid (HEPES) as a reducing/stabilizing agent. The GNFs have been characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and electrochemical measurements. The UV-visible spectra show two bands corresponding to the transverse and longitudinal surface plasmon (SP) absorption at 532 and 720 nm, respectively, for the colloidal GNFs. The GNFs were self-assembled on a sol-gel-derived silicate network, which was preassembled on a polycrystalline Au electrode and used for electrocatalytic applications. The GNFs retain their morphology on the silicate network; the UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) of GNFs on the silicate network show longitudinal and transverse bands as in the case of colloidal GNFs. The GNFs show excellent electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of methanol and the reduction of oxygen. Oxidation of methanol in alkaline solution was observed at approximately 0.245 V, which is much less positive than that on an unmodified polycrystalline gold electrode. Reduction of oxygen to H2O2 and the further reduction of H2O2 to water in neutral pH were observed at less negative potentials on the GNFs electrode. The electrocatalytic activity of GNFs is significantly higher than that of the spherically shaped citrate-stabilized Au nanoparticles (SGNs).

Analysis of Titanium Nanoparticles Created by Laser Irradiation under Liquid Environments†

The results of studies of the formation of various titanium-based nanoparticles by laser ablation of a titanium rod in liquid environments comprised of water, ethanol, 2-propanol, and n-hexane are reported. The effect of fluence on nanoparticle characteristics was studied by ablation with a 532 nm Nd:YAG operating at 10 Hz, showing that mean particle size and the size distribution increase with increasing laser intensity. The solvent plays a crucial role in the nature of the nanoparticles, as solvent components are incorporated into the nanoparticles during formation. Titanium nanoparticles formed in oxygen-rich solvents incorporate oxygen, while those formed in a carbon-rich environment are found to contain carbon. The nanoparticles created in their respective liquid environments are very stable, maintain their character over time, and remain in solution for months after creation.

Geometry Dependent Features of Optically Induced Forces between Silver Nanoparticles

A recently devised, discrete-dipole approximation (DDA) based method for computing optical forces is used to explore geometry dependent aspects of the light induced interactions between pairs of silver nanoparticles, including the influence of particle shape, relative positioning of the particles, and incident field orientation. The interactions are observed to have a large degree of generic character, independent of the details of the particle shape. The size of the optical forces is also compared to estimates for the van der Waals forces, and the results are used to assess the potential importance of radiation forces on recent experiments demonstrating photoinduced self-assembly of triangular silver nanoprisms.

Optical Transmittance of Indium Tin Oxide Nanoparticles Prepared by Laser-Induced Fragmentation in Water

Laser-induced fragmentation of indium tin oxide nanoparticles was performed in water by laser irradiation with various laser energies. Fragmentation of the nanoparticles proceeded with increased laser energy. The fragmented nanoparticles showed high transmittance in the visible region and lower transmittance in the ultraviolet and infrared regions. The optical band gap of the fragmented nanoparticles increased with decreasing average particle size. The increase of the band gap was possibly caused by the Burstein-Moss effect due to the increasing concentration of carriers generated by the surface defects of the oxygen vacancies on smaller nanoparticles.

Organic dye molecules as reducing agent for the synthesis of electroactive gold nanoplates

Highly crystalline, hexagonal and triangular nanoplates of gold are synthesized in high yield by a new wet chemical method using multifunctional molecules, Bismarck brown R (BBR) and Bismarck brown Y (BBY). This method involves a simple approach by keeping a mixture of aqueous HAuCl4 solution and BBR/BBY solution in presence of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) for 24 h. These nanostructures show unprecedented electrochemical properties exhibiting surface confinement effect. The UV-visible (UV-vis) spectrum shows certain distinct features with absorptions at 300, 400, and 650 nm extending up to the near infrared region. Selected area electron diffraction patterns of these nanoparticles show highly oriented (111) crystal facets. X-ray diffraction analysis also confirms the predominant orientation in the (111) crystal planes with lattice constant approximately 4.07 angstroms of face-centered-cubic (fcc) gold. X-ray photoelectron (XP) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis shows the presence of a fraction of reducing molecules as surface passivating agent either in the unreacted molecular state or as a mixture of reacted and unreacted product, which probably undergoes charge transfer with gold nanocrystals giving absorption at approximately 300 nm.