Band-gap tuning and nonlinear optical characterization of Ag:TiO2 nanocomposites

Silver/titanium dioxide nanoparticles with varied concentration of silver have been synthesized by a simple laser light induced chemical reaction, where bulk titanium dioxide powder is used as the starting material. The particle size, morphology, crystal structure, and optical properties were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The x-ray diffraction pattern revealed that the TiO2 nanoparticles obtained are in pure rutile phase. The important observation from transmission electron microscopic images is that the Ag particles are distributed over the surface of titanium dioxide nanoparticles. The band gap of the TiO2 nanoparticles was tuned between 1.75 and 2.75 eV by varying Ag concentration. The nonlinear optical absorption and optical limiting performance of Ag:TiO2 nanocomposites were investigated by open aperture z-scan using nanosecond Nd:YAG laser pulses operating at 532 nm. The best optical limiting threshold obtained was 113MW/cm(2). (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4757025]