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Sensoric potential of gold–silver core–shell nanoparticles

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Abstract

The sensitivities of five different core–shell nanostructures were investigated towards changes in the refractive index of the surrounding medium. The shift of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) maximum served as a measure of the (respective) sensitivity. Thus, gold–silver core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared with different shell thicknesses in a two-step chemical process without the use of any (possibly disturbing) surfactants. The measurements were supported by ultramicroscopic images in order to size the resulting core–shell structures. When compared to sensitivities of nanostructures reported in the literature with those of the (roughly spherical) gold–silver core–shell NPs, the latter showed comparable (or even higher) sensitivities than gold nanorods. The experimental finding is supported by theoretical calculation of optical properties of such core–shell NP. Extinction spectra of ideal spherical and deformed core–shell NPs with various core/shell sizes were calculated, and the presence of an optimal silver shell thickness with increased sensitivity was confirmed. This effect is explained by the existence of two overlapping plasmon bands in the NP, which change their relative intensity upon change of refractive index. Results of this research show a possibility of improving LSPR sensor by adding an extra metallic layer of certain thickness.

Figure: Left TEM image of gold-silver core-shell nanoparticle, Right Two images of E-field distribution in the core-shell nanoparticle at different excitation wavelengths.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the Leibniz Institute of Age Research – Fritz Lipmann Institute providing access to TEM and Katrin Buder for help with TEM measurements. Furthermore, we thank Carsten Sönnichsen (University Mainz, Germany) for providing gold nanorods and Thomas Schüler (FSU Jena) for 3D rendering. This work was supported by IRCSET – Marie Curie International Mobility Fellowship in Science, Engineering and Technology. Funding by the DFG (Fr 1348/12-1) is acknowledged.

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  1. Andrea Steinbrück

    Present address: Chemistry Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 9, 07745, Jena, Germany

    Andrea Steinbrück, Ondrej Stranik, Andrea Csaki & Wolfgang Fritzsche

  2. School of Physical Science, Dublin City University, Dublin, 9, Ireland

    Ondrej Stranik

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  1. Andrea Steinbrück
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  2. Ondrej Stranik
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  3. Andrea Csaki
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Correspondence to Wolfgang Fritzsche.

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Steinbrück, A., Stranik, O., Csaki, A. et al. Sensoric potential of gold–silver core–shell nanoparticles. Anal Bioanal Chem 401, 1241–1249 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-011-5177-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-011-5177-y

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