Comparative study of thermoplasmonic effects of gold and silver metal nanoparticle

We investigated the plasmonic heating effect of noble metal nanoparticles in a water environment using the first-principles approach. In this approach, we have solved the heat transfer equation in the steady state to obtain the heat generation and temperature profile corresponding to two different types of metals. Metals exhibited a surface plasmon resonance property in which maximum absorption of light for smaller size nanoparticles is observed, which can be used to heat up the surrounding environment. Inspired by the same, we have simulated the absorption cross section of different sizes of a metal nanosphere and observed the threshold value of the radius below which absorption is dominant. The maximum absorption of light by the nanosphere produces a hotspot, which can be visualized in terms of the electric field distribution plot. This electric field distribution profile of silver and gold metal nanoparticles is computed under the resonance wavelength using the boundary element method The results thus obtained in terms of the optical cross section are compared with those of the numerical model to establish their veracity. These theoretical works aim to further develop the fundamental understanding of the heating mechanism of plasmonic geometries, which can be used in several applications.