Modification of the silver nanoparticles size-distribution by means of laser light irradiation of their water suspensions

Abstract Contamination-free Ag nanoparticles were produced by nanosecond pulsed laser ablation (10 Hz repetition rate, 15 ns pulse duration) of a solid target immersed in double distilled water. The size distribution observed of the NPs is wider compared to those obtained by other preparation methods, mainly chemical. To modify it and make the NPs more appropriate for biological application, the fabricated suspensions were irradiated by an unfocused laser beam. The fundamental wavelength (λ = 1064 nm) of a Nd:YAG laser system was used for Ag NPs preparation. It lies outside their surface plasmon absorption band and was chosen to avoid self-absorption during ablation by already formed NPs. Excluding a possible absorption in the preparation stage provides a better control of the irradiation influence. The following irradiation of the suspension obtained was performed by the third (λTHG = 355 nm) harmonic of the laser system, which was chosen due to its positioning within the corresponding surface plasmon absorption band. The changes of the NPs characteristics caused by different laser fluence and duration of irradiation were traced by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and confirmed by optical transmission measurements in the near UV and the visible region. A considerable narrowing (by about of a factor of three) of the surface plasmon extinction band was achieved, which is evidence of narrowing of the particles size distribution and approach of their shape to the ideal spherical.