Substrate dependent surface plasmon resonance evolution of Ag nanoparticles treated inatmospheres

Abstract

The evolution of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) with alternate air andH2 treatment was investigated for silver nanoparticles on differentSiO2-based substrates (soda-lime glass, quartz glass and mesoporousSiO2). It has been shown that evolution behaviours on the three substratesare very different. For silver nanoparticles on the mesoporousSiO2 substrate,alternate air and H2 heat treatment led to the alternate disappearance and appearance of the SPR, showing thereversibility of optical changes. For a soda-lime glass substrate, the SPR absorption alsodisappeared after the first run heat treatment in air and re-appeared after subsequentH2 heat treatment, but the second run heat treatment in air could not induce there-disappearance of the SPR. After alternate heating of the sample in air andH2 for four or more cycles, the SPR stayed almost unchanged. For a quartz glasssubstrate, however, the SPR absorption became negligible after alternate air andH2 heattreatment. Such effects of the substrate on the SPR are explained in terms of the subtle difference of thethree SiO2-based substrates in micro-structure or chemical composition, and theredox of silver in the treatment atmospheres. This study could beimportant for the design and architectonics of new optical devices based onSiO2 materials and could also promote the understanding of the interaction of silvernanoparticles with the environment.