Synthesis of Au/Si nanocomposite using laser ablation method

Abstract Production and characterization of gold/silicon nanocomposites have been investigated experimentally, using laser ablation method. Firstly Si nanoparticles and Au nanoparticles were synthesized by ablation of their bulk in deionized water with the fundamental wavelength of Nd:YAG pulsed laser separately. Then the produced Au nanoparticles and Si nanoparticles suspensions were mixed and irradiated with the second harmonic of the pulsed Nd:YAG laser operating at 532 nm. Effects of the volumetric ratio of Au and Si nanoparticle suspensions in the characteristics of Au/Si nanocomposite have been studied in this research. A variety of analytical techniques such as UV–Vis-NIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, DLS measurement, FTIR spectrum, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and TEM and SEM imaging were applied to characterize the products. Strong plasmonic absorption band of Au nanoparticles around 530 nm made them to be heated and melted by the green laser irradiation to form nanocomposite with Si nanoparticles nearby.