Helium droplet assisted synthesis of plasmonic Ag@ZnO core@shell nanoparticles

Alexander Schiffmann; Thomas Jauk; Daniel Knez; Harald Fitzek; Ferdinand Hofer; Florian Lackner; Wolfgang E. Ernst

doi:10.1007/s12274-020-2961-z

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Research Article | Open Access

Helium droplet assisted synthesis of plasmonic Ag@ZnO core@shell nanoparticles

Alexander Schiffmann^¹(

), Thomas Jauk^¹, Daniel Knez^², Harald Fitzek^², Ferdinand Hofer^², Florian Lackner^¹, Wolfgang E. Ernst^¹(

)

1 Institute of Experimental Physics, Graz University of Technology, A-8010 Graz, Austria

2 Institute of Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis & Graz Centre for Electron Microscopy, Graz University of Technology, A-8010 Graz, Austria

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Graphical Abstract

Abstract

Plasmonic Ag@ZnO core@shell nanoparticles are formed by synthesis inside helium droplets with subsequent deposition and controlled oxidation. The particle size and shape can be controlled from spherical sub-10 nm particles to larger elongated structures. An advantage of the method is the complete absence of solvents, precursors, and other chemical agents. The obtained particle morphology and elemental composition have been analyzed by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results reveal that the produced particles form a closed and homogeneous ZnO layer around a 2-3 nm Ag core with a uniform thickness of (1.33 ± 0.15) nm and (1.63 ± 0.31) nm for spherical and wire-like particles, respectively. The results are supported by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), which indicates a fully oxidized shell layer for the particles studied by STEM. The plasmonic properties of the produced spherical Ag@ZnO core@shell particles are investigated by two-photon photoelectron (2PPE) spectroscopy. Upon excitation of the localized surface plasmon resonance in Ag at around 3 eV, plasmonic enhancement leads to the liberation of electrons with high kinetic energy. This is observed for both Ag and Ag@ZnO particles, showing that even if a Ag cluster is covered by the ZnO layer, a plasmonic enhancement can be observed by photoelectron spectroscopy.

Keywords

nanoparticle helium droplet plasmonics photoelectrons

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Nano Research

Volume 13 Issue 11,
November 2020

Pages 2979-2986

DOI: 10.1007/s12274-020-2961-z

Cite this article:

Schiffmann A, Jauk T, Knez D, et al. Helium droplet assisted synthesis of plasmonic Ag@ZnO core@shell nanoparticles. Nano Research, 2020, 13(11): 2979-2986. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-2961-z

Topics:

Core shell nanoparticles Energy dispersive spectroscopy Helium High resolution transmission electron microscopy II Kinetics Morphology Oxide minerals Particle size Photoelectrons Photons Plasmonic nanoparticles Plasmons Scanning electron microscopy Shells (structures)Spheres Surface plasmon resonance Synthesis (chemical)VI semiconductors

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Received: 21 February 2020

Revised: 26 June 2020

Accepted: 27 June 2020

Published: 27 July 2020

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