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

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

The emerging field of plasmonics has yielded methods for guiding and localizing light at the nanoscale, well below the scale of the wavelength of light in free space. Now plasmonics researchers are turning their attention to photovoltaics, where design approaches based on plasmonics can be used to improve absorption in photovoltaic devices, permitting a considerable reduction in the physical thickness of solar photovoltaic absorber layers, and yielding new options for solar-cell design. In this review, we survey recent advances at the intersection of plasmonics and photovoltaics and offer an outlook on the future of solar cells based on these principles.

Plasmonics for improved photovoltaic devices

1. Introduction 20642. Synthesis of Magnetic Nanoparticles 20662.1. Classical Synthesis by Coprecipitation 20662.2. Reactions in Constrained Environments 20682.3. Hydrothermal and High-TemperatureReactions20692.4. Sol-Gel Reactions 20702.5. Polyol Methods 20712.6. Flow Injection Syntheses 20712.7. Electrochemical Methods 20712.8. Aerosol/Vapor Methods 20712.9. Sonolysis 20723. Stabilization of Magnetic Particles 20723.1. Monomeric Stabilizers 20723.1.1. Carboxylates 20733.1.2. Phosphates 20733.2. Inorganic Materials 20733.2.1. Silica 20733.2.2. Gold 20743.3. Polymer Stabilizers 20743.3.1. Dextran 20743.3.2. Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) 20753.3.3. Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) 20753.3.4. Alginate 20753.3.5. Chitosan 20753.3.6. Other Polymers 20753.4. Other Strategies for Stabilization 20764. Methods of Vectorization of the Particles 20765. Structural and Physicochemical Characterization 20785.1. Size, Polydispersity, Shape, and SurfaceCharacterization20795.2. Structure of Ferro- or FerrimagneticNanoparticles20805.2.1. Ferro- and Ferrimagnetic Nanoparticles 20805.3. Use of Nanoparticles as Contrast Agents forMRI20825.3.1. High Anisotropy Model 20845.3.2. Small Crystal and Low Anisotropy EnergyLimit20855.3.3. Practical Interests of Magnetic NuclearRelaxation for the Characterization ofSuperparamagnetic Colloid20855.3.4. Relaxation of Agglomerated Systems 20856. Applications 20866.1. MRI: Cellular Labeling, Molecular Imaging(Inﬂammation, Apoptose, etc.)20866.2.

Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Stabilization, Vectorization, Physicochemical Characterizations, and Biological Applications

The unprecedented ability of nanometallic (that is, plasmonic) structures to concentrate light into deep-subwavelength volumes has propelled their use in a vast array of nanophotonics technologies and research endeavours. Plasmonic light concentrators can elegantly interface diffraction-limited dielectric optical components with nanophotonic structures. Passive and active plasmonic devices provide new pathways to generate, guide, modulate and detect light with structures that are similar in size to state-of-the-art electronic devices. With the ability to produce highly confined optical fields, the conventional rules for light-matter interactions need to be re-examined, and researchers are venturing into new regimes of optical physics. In this review we will discuss the basic concepts behind plasmonics-enabled light concentration and manipulation, make an attempt to capture the wide range of activities and excitement in this area, and speculate on possible future directions.

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Plasmonics for extreme light concentration and manipulation.

This feature article highlights work from the authors' laboratories on the synthesis, assembly, reactivity, and optical applications of metallic nanoparticles of nonspherical shape, especially nanorods. The synthesis is a seed-mediated growth procedure, in which metal salts are reduced initially with a strong reducing agent, in water, to produce ∼4 nm seed particles. Subsequent reduction of more metal salt with a weak reducing agent, in the presence of structure-directing additives, leads to the controlled formation of nanorods of specified aspect ratio and can also yield other shapes of nanoparticles (stars, tetrapods, blocks, cubes, etc.). Variations in reaction conditions and crystallographic analysis of gold nanorods have led to insight into the growth mechanism of these materials. Assembly of nanorods can be driven by simple evaporation from solution or by rational design with molecular-scale connectors. Short nanorods appear to be more chemically reactive than long nanorods. Finally, optical applica...

Anisotropic metal nanoparticles: Synthesis, assembly, and optical applications

SiO2 films containing Si nanocrystals (nc-Si) and Er were prepared and their photoluminescence (PL) properties were studied. The samples exhibited luminescence peaks at 0.81 and 1.54 μm, which could be assigned to the electron-hole recombination in nc-Si and the intra-4f transition in Er3+, respectively. Correlation between the intensities of the two luminescence peaks was studied as functions of Er concentration and excitation power. The present results clearly demonstrate that excitation of Er3+ occurs through the recombination of photogenerated carriers spatially confined in nc-Si and the subsequent energy transfer to Er3+.

1.54 μm photoluminescence of Er3+ doped into SiO2 films containing Si nanocrystals: Evidence for energy transfer from Si nanocrystals to Er3+

Photoluminescence (PL) from surface-oxidized Si nanocrystals (nc-Si) was studied as a function of the size. The size of nc-Si was comparable with or larger than the Bohr radius of free excitons in bulk Si crystal (5 nm). In contrast to smaller surface-oxidized nc-Si (typically as small as a few nanometers in diameter), these relatively large nc-Si exhibited PL properties with strong size dependence. A high-energy shift of the PL peak from the vicinity of the bulk band gap to the visible region was observed. This PL shift was accompanied by a shortening of the PL lifetime and an increase in the exchange splitting energy of excitons. These size dependences indicate that the PL originates from the recombination of excitons confined in nc-Si. The differences in the PL properties between H-terminated and surface-oxidized nc-Si are also discussed.

Size-dependent photoluminescence from surface-oxidized Si nanocrystals in a weak confinement regime

/pdf/size-dependent-near-infrared-photoluminescence-from-ge-5ae2ixv3q8.pdf

Size-dependent near-infrared photoluminescence from Ge nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 matrices

Surface plasmons are collective oscillations of free electrons localized at surfaces of structures made of metals. Since the surface plasmons induce fluctuations of electric charge at surfaces, they are accompanied by electromagnetic oscillations. Electromagnetic fields associated with surface plasmons are localized at surfaces of metallic structures and significantly enhanced compared with the excitation field. These two characteristics are ingredients for making good use of surface plasmons in plasmonics. Plasmonics is a rapidly growing and well-established research field, which covers various aspects of surface plasmons towards realization of a variety of surface-plasmon-based devices. In this paper, after summarizing the fundamental aspects of surface plasmons propagating on planar metallic surfaces and localized at metallic nanoparticles, recent progress in plasmonic waveguides, plasmonic light-emitting devices and plasmonic solar cells is reviewed.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/45/43/433001/pdf

Plasmonics: visit the past to know the future

SiO2 films containing Si nanocrystals (nc-Si) and Er were prepared and their photoluminescence (PL) properties were studied. The samples exhibited PL peaks at 0.8 and 1.54 μm, which could be assigned to the electron-hole recombination in nc-Si and the intra-4f transition in Er3+, respectively. Correlation between the intensities of the two PL peaks was studied as functions of the size of nc-Si, Er concentration, excitation power and excitation wavelength. It was found that the 1.54 μm PL of Er3+ is strongly enhanced by incorporating nc-Si in films. Furthermore, the intensity of the 1.54 μm peak was found to depend strongly on the size of the incorporated nc-Si.

Shinji Hayashi

Papers

1.54 μm photoluminescence of Er3+ doped into SiO2 films containing Si nanocrystals: Evidence for energy transfer from Si nanocrystals to Er3+

Size-dependent photoluminescence from surface-oxidized Si nanocrystals in a weak confinement regime

Size-dependent near-infrared photoluminescence from Ge nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 matrices

Plasmonics: visit the past to know the future

Photoluminescence from SiO2 films containing Si nanocrystals and Er: Effects of nanocrystalline size on the photoluminescence efficiency of Er3+