Milton Kerker

Bio: Milton Kerker is an academic researcher from Clarkson University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Light scattering & Electromagnetic radiation. The author has an hindex of 11, co-authored 24 publications receiving 3513 citations.

Light Scattering Instrumentation for Aerosol Studies: An Historical Overview

Abstract: The most powerful and elegant method for determining particle size distributions of aerosols by light scattering is to observe single particles suspended in a Millikan–Fletcher electrostatic field The first such light scattering studies were carried out by Whytlaw-Gray and Patterson (1926), by Gucker and Egan (1961), and then by Wyatt and Phillips (1972) Optically levitated particles were studied by Grehan and Gousebet (1986) Optical particle counters were devised by Gucker and his associates (1947a,b) and Gucker and Rose (1954) for both forward and 90° viewing Gucker also built an instrument for on-line viewing of 360° scatter by particles flowing through a light beam in single file Individual particles were also analyzed in an ultramicroscope by Wells and Gerke (1919) The earliest angular scattering patterns from assemblies of particles were by Tolman and Vliet (1921) and by Sinclair and La Mer (1949) Other interesting systems have utilized acoustic detectors, power loss in a laser cavit

Founding fathers of light scattering and surface-enhanced Raman scattering

Abstract: One can view our comprehension of surface-enhanced Raman scattering, particularly that by colloidal dispersions of metal sols, as the merging of two traditions in light-scattering theory and practice. One of these originated with Michael Faraday's work on brilliantly colored metal sols, which was taken up by Richard Zsigmondy and then by Gustav Mie, who accounted for the colors by electromagnetic-scattering theory. The other tradition starts with John Tyndall's work with aerosols, which stimulated Lord Rayleigh's entry into the field. Lord Rayleigh was perplexed by observations made with sulfur hydrosols, which in turn were explored by C. V. Raman. Raman's extensive work in light scattering led to his subsequent discovery of the Raman effect. These two traditions were then intertwined when it was shown that the same physical effect that caused Faraday's sols to exhibit their brilliant colors was also the origin of the enhancement of Raman signals from molecules adsorbed on the metal particles that compose these sols.

Gold nanoparticles: assembly, supramolecular chemistry, quantum-size-related properties, and applications toward biology, catalysis, and nanotechnology.

Abstract: Although gold is the subject of one of the most ancient themes of investigation in science, its renaissance now leads to an exponentially increasing number of publications, especially in the context of emerging nanoscience and nanotechnology with nanoparticles and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). We will limit the present review to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), also called gold colloids. AuNPs are the most stable metal nanoparticles, and they present fascinating aspects such as their assembly of multiple types involving materials science, the behavior of the individual particles, size-related electronic, magnetic and optical properties (quantum size effect), and their applications to catalysis and biology. Their promises are in these fields as well as in the bottom-up approach of nanotechnology, and they will be key materials and building block in the 21st century. Whereas the extraction of gold started in the 5th millennium B.C. near Varna (Bulgaria) and reached 10 tons per year in Egypt around 1200-1300 B.C. when the marvelous statue of Touthankamon was constructed, it is probable that “soluble” gold appeared around the 5th or 4th century B.C. in Egypt and China. In antiquity, materials were used in an ecological sense for both aesthetic and curative purposes. Colloidal gold was used to make ruby glass 293 Chem. Rev. 2004, 104, 293−346

The Optical Properties of Metal Nanoparticles: The Influence of Size, Shape, and Dielectric Environment

Abstract: The optical properties of metal nanoparticles have long been of interest in physical chemistry, starting with Faraday's investigations of colloidal gold in the middle 1800s. More recently, new lithographic techniques as well as improvements to classical wet chemistry methods have made it possible to synthesize noble metal nanoparticles with a wide range of sizes, shapes, and dielectric environments. In this feature article, we describe recent progress in the theory of nanoparticle optical properties, particularly methods for solving Maxwell's equations for light scattering from particles of arbitrary shape in a complex environment. Included is a description of the qualitative features of dipole and quadrupole plasmon resonances for spherical particles; a discussion of analytical and numerical methods for calculating extinction and scattering cross-sections, local fields, and other optical properties for nonspherical particles; and a survey of applications to problems of recent interest involving triangula...

Thermal Radiation Heat Transfer

Abstract: A comprehensive discussion of heat transfer by thermal radiation is presented, including the radiative behavior of materials, radiation between surfaces, and gas radiation. Among the topics considered are property prediction by electromagnetic theory, the observed properties of solid materials, radiation in the presence of other modes of energy transfer, the equations of transfer for an absorbing-emitting gas, and radiative transfer in scattering and absorbing media. Also considered are radiation exchange between black isothermal surfaces, radiation exchange in enclosures composed of diffuse gray surfaces and in enclosures having some specularly reflecting surfaces, and radiation exchange between nondiffuse nongray surfaces. The use of the Monte Carlo technique in solving radiant-exchange problems and problems of radiative transfer through absorbing-emitting media is explained.

Nanoengineering of Inorganic and Hybrid Hollow Spheres by Colloidal Templating

Abstract: Hollow silica and silica-polymer spheres with diameters between 720 and 1000 nanometers were fabricated by consecutively assembling silica nanoparticles and polymer onto colloids and subsequently removing the templated colloid either by calcination or decomposition upon exposure to solvents. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy images demonstrate that the wall thickness of the hollow spheres can be readily controlled by varying the number of nanoparticle-polymer deposition cycles, and the size and shape are determined by the morphology of the templating colloid. The hollow spheres produced are envisioned to have applications in areas ranging from medicine to pharmaceutics to materials science.

Spectral properties and relaxation dynamics of surface plasmon electronic oscillations in gold and silver nanodots and nanorods

Abstract: The field of nanoparticle research has drawn much attention in the past decade as a result of the search for new materials. Size confinement results in new electronic and optical properties, possibly suitable for many electronic and optoelectronic applications. A characteristic feature of noble metal nanoparticles is the strong color of their colloidal solutions, which is caused by the surface plasmon absorption. This article describes our studies of the properties of the surface plasmon absorption in metal nanoparticles that range in size between 10 and 100 nm. The effects of size, shape, and composition on the plasmon absorption maximum and its bandwidth are discussed. Furthermore, the optical response of the surface plasmon absorption due to excitation with femtosecond laser pulses allowed us to follow the electron dynamics (electron−electron and electron−phonon scattering) in these metal nanoparticles. It is found that the electron−phonon relaxation processes in nanoparticles, which are smaller than t...