Photothermally heated colloidal synthesis of nanoparticles driven by silica-encapsulated plasmonic heat sources

Abstract Using photons to drive chemical reactions has become an increasingly important field of chemistry. Plasmonic materials can provide a means to introduce the energy necessary for nucleation and growth of nanoparticles by efficiently converting visible and infrared light to heat. Moreover, the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Aritra Biswas, Nir Lemcoff, Ofir Shelonchik, Doron Yesodi, Elad Yehezkel, Ella Yonit Finestone, Alexander Upcher, Yossi Weizmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2023-10-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42167-9
Description
Summary:Abstract Using photons to drive chemical reactions has become an increasingly important field of chemistry. Plasmonic materials can provide a means to introduce the energy necessary for nucleation and growth of nanoparticles by efficiently converting visible and infrared light to heat. Moreover, the formation of crystalline nanoparticles has yet to be included in the extensive list of plasmonic photothermal processes. Herein, we establish a light-assisted colloidal synthesis of iron oxide, silver, and palladium nanoparticles by utilizing silica-encapsulated gold bipyramids as plasmonic heat sources. Our work shows that the silica surface chemistry and localized thermal hotspot generated by the plasmonic nanoparticles play crucial roles in the formation mechanism, enabling nucleation and growth at temperatures considerably lower than conventional heating. Additionally, the photothermal method is extended to anisotropic geometries and can be applied to obtain intricate assemblies inaccessible otherwise. This study enables photothermally heated nanoparticle synthesis in solution through the plasmonic effect and demonstrates the potential of this methodology.
ISSN:2041-1723