Modeling of electrodynamic interactions between metal nanoparticles aggregated by electrostatic interactions into closely-packed clusters

Anatoliy O. Pinchuk, Alexander M. Kalsin, Bartlomiej Kowalczyk, George C Schatz, Bartosz A. Grzybowski*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper is a theoretical and experimental study of the optical properties of binary aqueous suspensions containing metal nanoparticles (NPs) coated with charged organics. If all nanoparticles bear charges of the same polarity, the NPs do not aggregate, and the solutions are stable. Under these circumstances, optical response of the mixture is a linear combination of the optical responses of the individual components. In contrast, when the NPs are oppositely charged, they aggregate into clusters, whose optical properties cannot be understood without taking into account electrodynamic coupling between the constituent NPs. To model such aggregates, we present two theoretical approaches: (i) an exact analytical model accounting for the granularity of the NPs and (ii) an approximation, in which the aggregates are represented as spherosymmetric core-and-shells. Both models reproduce optical spectra recorded experimentally and give physically reasonable estimates of the aggregates' internal structure and composition.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)11816-11822
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry C
Volume111
Issue number32
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 16 2007

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Energy(all)
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films

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