Unusual transient absorption dynamics of silver nanoparticles in solutions of carboxylated amine complexons

G P Shevchenko, V A Zhuravkov, E V Tretyak, S A Tikhomirov, O V Buganov, A N Ponyavina, Hong Minh Pham, Hoang Tung Do, Van Duong Pham and Dai Hung Nguyen

Abstract

We present the results of research on fast relaxation dynamics in the electronic excitation of silver nanoparticles synthesized in the presence of carboxylated amine complexons (NTA, Na₂EDTA, DTPA) without any reductant or polymeric stabilizer. Unusual transient absorption dynamics in these objects after femtosecond laser irradiation was found, manifesting as the appearance of an additional long-lived bleaching band. The effect may be assigned to the inhomogeneous and porous shell of silver nanoparticles synthesized by such a procedure, as the consequence of a partial fragmentation of this shell due to heating under femtosecond laser excitation of plasmonic nanoparticles and subsequent electron–phonon energy relaxation