Time-resolved and steady state spectroscopy of polydisperse colloidal silver nanoparticle samples

A signal due to coherently excited vibrational motion has been observed in polydisperse silver nanoparticle samples. The particles were synthesized via a wet chemistry seed mediated method, which yields different particle shapes, including spheres, rods, and irregular triangular-shaped particles. The measured vibrational periods were compared to the results from continuum mechanics calculations. This analysis shows that the observed signal arises from the triangular-shaped particles, rather than the rods or spheres. The period of vibration increases as the dimensions of the triangular-shaped particles increase; specifically, we find that the period is given by 2h/c(1), where h is the bisector of the triangle and cl is the longitudinal speed of sound in silver.