Modification of nanoparticles synthesized during ablation of metals in water using nanosecond, picosecond, and femtosecond pulses

Abstract

Abstract We show that the pulse duration of laser radiation used for metal ablation in water affects the nanoparticle morphology over a two-month aging period. Aluminum, copper, indium, and zinc spherical nanoparticles evolved into the elliptical, triangular, seed-like, rod-like, and rectangular forms. The most effective transformation of spherical nanoparticles into nonspherical shapes occurred with picosecond pulse ablation. Spectral analysis of the aged nanoparticle suspensions revealed changes in both the visible and UV ranges. Our study showed the correlation between the suppression of the surface plasmon resonances of the suspensions of aged nanoparticles and modification of spherical structures toward the nonspherical nano- and microparticles.