Synthesis of zirconium nanoparticles by ultrafast laser ablation

We report the results of the ablation of a zirconium rod in isopropyl alcohol employing a titanium sapphire fermosecond laser system operated at sub-800nm wavelengths with a fluence of 2mJ/pulse and a 10Hz pulse rate. Ablation of zirconium was investigated under two different focal regimes, resulting in ablation with different power densities. Optimally, the fermosecond laser system produces pulses of 100femtoseconds; however, experiments were also performed in which the temporal nature of the fermosecond pulse was adjusted by stretching the pulse to minimize supercontinuum formation. The resultant nanoparticles displayed size distributions with mean values of 12 to 15 nm. Optical activity of zirconium nanoparticles is addressed.