Enhanced two-photon absorption of ligated silver and gold nanoclusters: theoretical and experimental assessments

Ligated silver and gold nanoclusters belonging to a non-scalable size regime with molecular-like discrete electronic states represent an emerging class of extremely interesting optical materials. Nonlinear optical (NLO) characteristics of such quantum clusters have revealed remarkable features. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nanoscale 2019-07, Vol.11 (26), p.12436-12448
Main Authors: Bona i -Koutecký, Vlasta, Antoine, Rodolphe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical Sciences
Electron states
Fluorescence
Gold
Imaging techniques
Nanoclusters
Noble metals
Optical materials
Optics
Photon absorption
Silver
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Summary:Ligated silver and gold nanoclusters belonging to a non-scalable size regime with molecular-like discrete electronic states represent an emerging class of extremely interesting optical materials. Nonlinear optical (NLO) characteristics of such quantum clusters have revealed remarkable features. The two-photon absorption (TPA) cross section of ligated noble metal nanoclusters is several orders of magnitude larger than that of commercially-available dyes. Several such case studies on NLO properties of ligated silver and gold nanoclusters have been reported, making them promising candidates for various bio-imaging techniques such as multiphoton-excited fluorescence microscopy. However, the structure-property relationship is of great importance and needs to be properly addressed in order to design new nonlinear optical materials. Using small ligated silver nanoclusters as test systems, we illustrate how theoretical approaches together with experimental findings can contribute to the understanding of structure-property relationships that might ultimately guide nanocluster synthesis. Ligated silver and gold nanoclusters belonging to a non-scalable size regime with molecular-like discrete electronic states represent an emerging class of extremely interesting optical materials.
ISSN:2040-3364
2040-3372
DOI:10.1039/c9nr01826c