Silver Amalgam Nanoparticles and Microparticles: A Novel Plasmonic Platform for Spectroelectrochemistry

0509619 - BFÚ 2020 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Ligmajer, Filip - Horák, M. - Šikola, T. - Fojta, Miroslav - Daňhel, Aleš
Silver Amalgam Nanoparticles and Microparticles: A Novel Plasmonic Platform for Spectroelectrochemistry.
Journal of Physical Chemistry C. Roč. 123, č. 27 (2019), s. 16957-16964. ISSN 1932-7447. E-ISSN 1932-7455
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GJ17-23634Y; GA MŠMT EF15_003/0000477
Institutional support: RVO:68081707
Keywords : optical-properties * metal nanoparticles * single * mercury
OECD category: Nano-processes (applications on nano-scale)
Impact factor: 4.189, year: 2019
Method of publishing: Open access
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1904.11160

Plasmonic nanoparticles from unconventional materials can improve or even bring some novel functionalities into the disciplines inherently related to plasmonics such as photochemistry or (spectro)electrochemistry. They can, for example, catalyze various chemical reactions or act as nanoelectrodes and optical transducers in various applications. Silver amalgam is the perfect example of such an unconventional plasmonic material, albeit it is well-known in the field of electrochemistry for its wide cathodic potential window and strong adsorption affinity of biomolecules to its surface. In this study, we investigate in detail the optical properties of nanoparticles and microparticles made from silver amalgam and correlate their plasmonic resonances with their morphology. We use optical spectroscopy techniques on the ensemble level and electron energy loss spectroscopy on the single-particle level to demonstrate the extremely wide spectral range covered by the silver amalgam localized plasmonic resonances, ranging from ultraviolet all the way to the mid-infrared wavelengths. Our results establish silver amalgam as a suitable material for introduction of plasmonic functionalities into photochemical and spectroelectrochemical systems, where the plasmonic enhancement of electromagnetic fields and light emission processes could synergistically meet with the superior electrochemical characteristics of mercury.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0300309