Femtosecond pulsed laser ablation in liquids (fs-PLAL) has been explored for synthesis of robust gold-carbon nanoparticles. Three different gold sources were considered, namely, bromine tetrachloroaurate (III) complex BrAuCl4 , diazonium tetrachloroaurate (III) complex [C8F17-4-C6H4N=N]AuCl4 ,and gold plate in presence of BrBF4. While direct ablation of BrAuCl4 in acetonitrile produced pink colored solutions, direct ablation of [C8F17-4-C6H4N=N]AuCl4 in acetonitrile produced intense ruby red and dark yellow colored solutions due to nanoparticle production, confirmed by UV-Vis spectra.Two approaches have been successfully investigated; first direct ablation of the chemicals dissolved in acetonitrile, second ablation of gold plate in presence of the chemicals. Evidences of nanoparticle production have been confirmed by UV-Vis absorption spectra of the gold nanoparticles, which are visualized in all the cases under investigation, including the case of BrBF4where gold came from ablation of the plates.In a further step, the reaction kinetic of the laser ablation of [C8F17-4-C6H4N=N]AuCl4in acetonitrile is supervised and the time exposure to the laser beam has been monitored by UV-Vis absorption spectra. The starting compound absorption vanishes after 500 s coincident with the maximum absorbance recorded @ 532 nm due to the gold nanoparticles absorption.Laser ablation of a solid target material in liquid is considered a robust method which accomplished direct, simple, and fast nanoparticles synthesis. The process is a reliable alternative to the traditional chemical reduction for the generation of noble metal colloids. Hence, laser-induced chemical reduction (LICR) is considered environmental friendly and certainly less chemicals are required to complete the chemical reduction. Current results demonstrate that the presence of noble metals is not essential prerequisite for the successful chemical reduction and the simple exposure of the solutions to the femtosecond laser beams is able to accomplish the chemical reduction, as a part of a more efficient process. Research in this field deserves special attention since it allows the practical search for new multifunctional materials with important applications ranging from superhydrophobic surfaces with antibacterial activity to the designing of the modern miniature electronic and optical devices for ultrafast data communication and optical data storage.Figure 1. (A) Pictures of the vials with the compounds used in LICR for gold-carbon nanoparticles production, and (B) UV-Vis absorption spectra of the kinetic series of the LICR of diazonium tetrachloroaurate (III) complex [C8F17-4-C6H4N=N]AuCl4, accompanied of the plot representing the absorption @532 nm as a function of time.

Femtosecond laser ablation of liquids for robust gold-carbon nanoparticles production

248th National Meeting (2014)

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