Second harmonic generation from silver nanoparticles in aqueous solution with different protective agents

Nanometer-sized metallic colloidal particles with plasmonic resonances in the visible range are widely investigated for their attractive optical properties as sensors, for imaging and cancer treatment. Their second-order nonlinear optical properties are remarkably high. In this work, silver colloidal solutions have been synthesized by a simple and quick method in aqueous solutions with different protective agents (PVA, PVP). The first hyperpolarizability β values of Ag per atom and per particle for nanospheres at 1064 nm have been measured. Silver nanoparticles, which possess intense visible region surface plasmon absorption bands, prove to be excellent nonlinear scatterers.