Electrons in metal nanoparticles can be controlled by changing the size, shape, or dielectric environment of the particles. Metal@metal-oxide core/shell particles are systems where the dielectric environment around the metal core electrons can be precisely controlled by a solid matrix. Moreover, metal-oxide supported nanoparticles are catalytically active, and the catalytic activity depends on the identity of the support. This research focuses on fabricating gold and silver core particles with metal-oxide shells (e.g., SiO2, TiO2, and ZrO2) of varying thickness. Conduction electron spin resonance (CESR) spectroscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy are used to examine the change of electronic states within the metal core as a function of metal-oxide identity and thickness. CESR spectroscopy has been demonstrated as a sensitive technique in probing the small changes in electronic structure close to the Fermi level. The g-factor value, extracted from the CESR signal, is a characterization of the spin-orbit coupling of the electron energy and can typify the affect of the dielectric environment on the core metal electrons.

Metal oxide support for control over electronic properties in catalytic noble metal particles

255th National Meeting (2018)

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