Atomically precise clusters of gold and silver. Towards a new class of nonlinear optics nanomaterials

This book discusses non-linear optics of noble metal quantum clusters, with a particular focus on the two-photon processes that are promising for biological and medical applications. It also presents case studies highlighting the NLO properties of silver and gold liganded clusters, which make them potential candidates for various imaging techniques such as fluorescence microscopy and second-harmonic generation microscopy.

Atomic clusters of metals are an emerging class of extremely interesting materials occupying the intermediate size regime between atoms and nanoparticles, and the nonlinear optical (NLO) characteristics of atomically precise clusters of gold and silver reveal their remarkable features. The two-photon absorption cross section of protected noble metal nanoclusters is several orders of magnitude larger than that of commercially available dyes. However, the fundamental photophysical mechanisms underlying these two-photon processes in ligand-protected clusters with few metal atoms are not yet fully understood. The book presents broad range of state-of-the-art methods to determine nonlinear optical properties (i.e. two-photon absorption, two-photon excited fluorescence and second harmonic generation) of nanoclusters, including the experimental setup and underlying physical concepts. Furthermore, it introduces theoretical models to explain the experimental observations and discusses the possibility of deducing the key ingredients to propose new classes of nanoclusters with large NLO efficiency.

• ISBN: 978-3-319-64742-5
• Editorial: Springer
• Encuadernacion: Rústica
• Fecha Publicación: 08/10/2017
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés