Study of laser ablated copper nanoparticles in different liquids and their effect on optical properties of Tb3+ in PVA

Abstract

Cu nanoparticles have been prepared in different liquids i.e. aqueous solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate, acetone and ethanol with the help of laser ablation from a bulk copper target using 1,064 nm from Nd:YAG laser. Transmission electron microscopy and UV–vis spectrometry have been employed for the analysis of size and optical properties of the nanoparticles, respectively. X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the formation of Cu nanoparticles. The nanoparticles exhibit hexagonal nature with average particle size of 15–25 and 20–30 nm in case of sodium dodecyl sulfate and acetone respectively, whereas they posses spherical symmetry with bigger particle size of 30–40 nm in ethanol. The surface plasmon resonance peak shifts from 587 to 613 nm in different solvents, which is partly related to the change in shape and size of the particles. Further, Cu nanoparticles in different solvents have been added to polymer with terbium (Tb3+) ions to seek into the optical properties of the samples. The photoluminescence of Tb3+ ions varies with Cu nanoparticles in different solvents in polyvinyl alcohol and the result has been further verified by lifetime analysis.