Optical Properties and Detection Sensitivity of Noble Metal Nanoparticles

Abstract

By using the finite difference time domain method, the localized surface plasmon extinction spectrum of different sizes of spherical gold and silver nanoparticles were simulated and analyzed in external environments with various refractive indices. It was observed that the changes in the position of the resonance wavelength were linearly proportional to the external refractive index, while the sensitivity increased with nanoparticle size. The sensitivity of the spherical silver nanoparticles with a radius of 40 nm reached 122 nm/RIU. For the silver and gold nanoparticles of the same size, the sensitivity of the silver nanoparticles was greater than that of the gold nanoparticles. In the experiment, the spectral characteristics of the silver nanoparticles with different sizes under various external refractive indices were measured. The experimental results were consistent with the simulation results. The resonance wavelength and the concentration of the solution showed a good linear relationship. By using the sensitive properties of the nanoparticles such as external refractive index, the amount of sucrose in the solution can be measured.