Laser-induced Liquid Phase Deposition Research Articles

Annealing effect: Controlled modification of the structure, composition and plasmon resonance of hybrid Au–Ag/C nanostructures

Here we present a novel approach to the synthesis of hybrid Au–Ag/C nanoparticles (NPs) which were found to be carbon nanospheres containing dispersed Au–Ag bimetallic nanoparticles (1–5nm). The Au–Ag/C NPs were obtained by laser-induced liquid phase deposition from solutions of supramolecular complex. It was revealed that subsequent annealing procedure of Au–Ag/C NPs at various temperatures over the range 100–600°C allows variation and directed control of NPs’ morphology and composition (relative contents of principal components). For nanoscale carbon material the critical evaporation temperature was found to be about 300°C, while for Ag and Au components – 500°C and 600°C accordingly. The morphology and composition variation makes possible tuning of the surface plasmon resonance characteristics that opens an efficient way of the NPs’ functional properties control, like for example Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS). It was found that the obtained hybrid Au–Ag/C NPs display pronounced SERS activity with the enhancement factor (EF) ca. 105.

Glycerol as a ligand for the laser-induced liquid phase deposition of copper

In the present paper, the use of glycerol as a ligand in the process of the laser-induced liquid phase deposition of copper onto oxide glass is studied. It is shown that the process proceeds without an undesirable gas evolution, leading to the deposition of extended continuous copper structures with a good topology on the glass surface.