Structural properties of gold-silicon nanohybrids formed by femtosecond laser ablation in water at different fluences
Résumé
A gold target was ablated by femtosecond laser radiation in aqueous solutions of preliminarily prepared Si nanoparticles. The ablation process led to the formation of Au-based spherical colloids with the mean size around 5-10 nm and a weak abundance of larger species. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis revealed the presence of Au and Si in colloid composition, while the stoichiometry of colloids did not depend on laser fluence during the fabrication experiments. The formation of Au-Si nanohybrid structure was explained by an effect of the interaction of laser-ablated Au nanoclusters with water-dispersed Si nanoparticles. The fabricated structures can be of importance for biomedical, catalysis, and photovoltaics applications.