Spectral Tuning of Plasmon Resonance in a Core/Shell (Au)Ag Nanocomposite

A bimetallic (Au)Ag nanocomposite with a core/shell structure was synthesized in aqueous solution and a H2O/EtOH mixture (1:1) containing polymers (carboxymethylcellulose, sodium polystyrenesulfonate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, dextran). Its structure and optical properties were characterized. The shape and position of scattering bands of colloidal noble-metal nanoparticles with optical density <0.1 were undistorted by solvent absorption. Scattering spectra had to be corrected for solutions of greater optical density. A method for correcting the resonant lightscattering spectra of Au and (Au)Ag nanoparticles was proposed for a single-beam apparatus. The possibility of surface plasmon resonance tuning for (Au)Ag with a short-wavelength shift of ~150 nm for the absorption band maximum and of ~84 nm for the resonant scattering band was demonstrated by varying the AgNO3 concentration during formation of the silver shell on the gold core.