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Launching low-energy surface plasmons in purple gold (AuAl2)

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Abstract

We confirm that the unusual purple color of the intermetallic compound AuAl2 is of a plasmonic origin by launching surface plasmons (SPs) in thin AuAl2 films. We measure the SP dispersion relation and also use the films to measure the index of refraction of sucrose solutions using standard SP resonance sensing. We find that the SP energy in planar AuAl2 is approximately 2.1 eV, about 0.4 eV lower than in gold, and the material is highly resistant to oxidation. This is close to what is expected from previously reported measurements of the dielectric function of AuAl2. On this basis, we predict that AuAl2 nanoparticles will a have very strong, spectrally nearly uniform light absorbance about an order of magnitude greater than standard carbon black. Such particles may therefore find applications as obscurants or as an alternative to more complex light-absorbing gold structures in areas such as photothermal therapy or solar steam generation, or in plasmonic catalysis.

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  1. Department of Physics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Panupon Samaimongkol & Hans D. Robinson

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  1. Panupon Samaimongkol
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Samaimongkol, P., Robinson, H.D. Launching low-energy surface plasmons in purple gold (AuAl2). Gold Bull 52, 27–33 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13404-018-0250-3

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