Laser induced mechanisms controlling the size distribution of metallic nanoparticles

This paper describes a model to simulate changes in the size distribution of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) in TiO 2 films upon continuous wave light excitation. Interrelated laser induced physical and chemical processes initiated directly by photon absorption or by plasmon induced thermal heating are...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP 2016-01, Vol.18 (35), p.246-2469
Main Authors: Liu, Zeming, Vitrant, Guy, Lefkir, Yaya, Bakhti, Said, Destouches, Nathalie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Devices
Engineering Sciences
Homogeneity
Mathematical models
Nanoparticles
Photocatalysis
Scanning transmission electron microscopy
Size distribution
Titanium dioxide
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Summary:This paper describes a model to simulate changes in the size distribution of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) in TiO 2 films upon continuous wave light excitation. Interrelated laser induced physical and chemical processes initiated directly by photon absorption or by plasmon induced thermal heating are considered. Namely the model takes into account the NP coalescence, Ostwald ripening, the reduction of silver ions and the oxidation of metallic NPs, competitive mechanisms that can lead to counter-intuitive behaviors depending on the exposure conditions. Theoretical predictions are compared successfully to the experimental results deduced from a thorough analysis of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) pictures of Ag:TiO 2 films processed with a scanning visible laser beam at different speeds. Ag:TiO 2 systems are considered for many applications in solar energy conversion, photocatalysis or secured data printing. Numerical investigations of such a system provide a better understanding of light induced growth and shrinking processes and open up prospects for designing more efficient photocatalytic devices based on metal NP doped TiO 2 or for improving the size homogeneity in self-organized metallic NP patterns, for instance. This paper describes a model to simulate changes in the size distribution of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) in TiO 2 films upon continuous wave light excitation.
ISSN:1463-9076
1463-9084
DOI:10.1039/c6cp03415b