Scientific Reports (Aug 2024)

Monitoring of nanoplasmonics-assisted deuterium production in a polymer seeded with resonant Au nanorods using in situ femtosecond laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

  • N. Kroó,
  • M. Aladi,
  • M. Kedves,
  • B. Ráczkevi,
  • A. Kumari,
  • P. Rácz,
  • M. Veres,
  • G. Galbács,
  • L. P. Csernai,
  • T. S. Biró

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-69289-4
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 6

Abstract

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Abstract In this brief report, we present laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) evidence of deuterium (D) production in a 3:1 urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) and triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) polymer doped with resonant gold nanorods, induced by intense, 40 fs laser pulses. The in situ recorded LIBS spectra revealed that the D/(2D + H) increased to 4–8% in the polymer samples in selected events. The extent of transmutation was found to linearly increase with the laser pulse energy (intensity) between 2 and 25 mJ (up to 3 × 1017W/cm2). The observed effect is attributed only to the field enhancing effects due to excited localized surface plasmons on the gold nanoparticles.

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