Evaluation of the structure and shape of the experimentally obtained Ag nanoparticles

Abstract

Silver is one of the most promising nanomaterials for plasmonic applications due to its low cost as well as the ease with which it can be prepared into nanoparticles with controlled size and shape. By now, it has already become clear that it is the shape and internal symmetry of nanoparticles that can significantly affect the scattering and absorption of a light wave, since without the formation of a strong dipole, these effects in nanoparticles will be insignificant. Therefore, the main objective of the study was a theoretical analysis of the processes of formation of the external and internal structure of silver nanoclusters obtained by some methods of physical synthesis. To do this, we studied high-resolution electron microscopy data for the initial and annealed silver nanoparticles formed on a carbon substrate by vacuum thermal evaporation and having sizes from 2,0 to 10,0 nm. It has been established that, as a result of annealing, the number of small nanoparticles (D< 3,5 nm) decreases by approximately 2 times, and the proportion of nanoparticles with icosahedral and decahedral faceting increases by approximately 1,5 times. Based on the analysis performed, conclusions were drawn about the possible features and mechanisms of formation of various types of symmetry in synthesized Ag nanoparticles.

Keywords

• nanoclusters
• silver
• crystallization
• structure
• computer simulation
• high-resolution transmission electron microscopy