Synthesis of Ag NPs by ultrashort-pulse laser ablation: computational analysis of SERS

MA. ALEJANDRA GUERRERO VANEGAS; DAVID MUÑETÓN ARBOLEDA; JESICA SANTILLÁN; DANIEL C. SCHINCA

San Carlos de Bariloche

Otro; Autumn School on Ultrafast Lasers; 2023

Instituto Balseiro

The physical and chemical properties of metallic nanomaterials are of interest in the development of applications in different fields of science and technology [1-3]. In particular, Ag nanoparticles (NPs) have attractive scientific interest owing to their biocompatibility and antimicrobial activity as well as their potential use in biosensors [4-6].Ag NPs are typically synthesized by methods of chemical reduction of silver salts in solution. Thesemethods provide good control of the structural parameters, however they have the disadvantage ofleaving chemical residues that can contaminate and complicate certain applications. To overcome this problem, synthesis of NPs by ultrashort (fs) pulse laser ablation of solid targets in solution has become an alternative. In this work, the results of Ag NPs synthesized by femtosecond laser ablation using two different pulse energies are shown [7]. The colloids were experimentally characterized through UV-VIS spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy to determine their size, composition, and spectral characteristics. In addition, the computational analysis of the Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) produced by Ag NPs and core-shell Ag@Ag2O , implemented using the discrete dipole approximation (DDA), is presented with the perspective of being used in detection applications of analytes with low optical response.