Optical interactions of silver nanoparticle decorated cellulose nanocrystals created from a one-pot reduction method

Abstract

Modified cellulose nanocrystals were decorated with silver nanoparticles using a one-pot reduction method. In contrast to a quasi-uniform distribution of silver nanoparticles, we report on the interactions of non-contact nanoparticle clusters with significant line broadening and red shifts in the extinction spectra. The particle size and cluster distributions were examined using a transmission electron microscope. Monte Carlo random walk (MCRW) simulations of the extinction spectrum show that the interacting silver nanospheres are organized in small, non-contact clusters. We observed that the MCRW optimization using the first-order iterative approximation to the self-consistent dipole field equations quickly approaches the observed localized clusters.