Investigating the Shape and Size-Dependent Optical Properties of Silver Nanostructures Using UV-vis Spectroscopy

In the laboratory experiment described here, students synthesize silver nanostructures (AgNS) with different shapes and sizes to elucidate the shape- and size-dependent optical properties of nanostructured materials. Students also develop understanding of some thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the synthesis process through this experiment. In the size-controlled synthesis of spherical and triangular silver nanostructures, students can observe the conspicuous color change of colloidal AgNS systems. In addition, the optical properties of these materials can be analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using UV-vis spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. Students gain skills in synthesizing and characterizing different silver nanostructures (sphere and triangle) and learn about the shape-dependent optical properties of these nanostructures.