Nondestructive Sizing of Quantum Particles (1 ~ 3 nm) Via Quantum-Size and Temperature-Induced Plasmon Shift

¹Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México

²IPCM-Ciência dos Materiais, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, 48902-300 Juazeiro, BA, Brazil

*Corresponding author: Mufei Xiao, Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, km. 107 Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California CP 22860, México; Email: [email protected]

Received Date: March 31, 2023

Publication Date: April 24, 2023

Citation: Xiao M, et al. (2023). Nondestructive Sizing of Quantum Particles (1 ~ 3 nm) Via Quantum-Size and Temperature-Induced Plasmon Shift. Catalysis Research. 3(2):11.

Copyright: Xiao M, et al. © (2023). 

ABSTRACT

It is proposed a method to non-destructively determine the size (1~3 nm) of metallic particles doped in otherwise optically transparent materials, based on a theoretical study on the plasmonic shift induced by the quantum-size effect and the environmental temperature. It is of recent interest to study plasmonics of metallic particles that are so small that carriers in the conduction band are separated at discrete subbands due to quantum confinement. These small metallic particles are referred to as quantum particles in the present work. The modifications of the plasmons of the quantum particles are studied with an every-electron-count computational scheme. The quantum size effects are incorporated into classic descriptions of small particle plasmons with an emphasis on intra-subband fluctuations caused by quantum confinement. The carrier redistribution at the subbands is related to the operational temperature via Fermi-Dirac expression. Numerical results have shown that both the frequency and the strength of the plasmons are modified as a function of the particle size and the operational temperature. The discovery suggests potential applications, such as tuning the plasmonics of quantum particles externally and nondestructive sizing of the particles 1~3 nm in size. The environment temperature can be conveniently controlled by light, electricity, or other means.

Keywords: Plasmonics, quantum particles, quantum-size effect, Fermi-Dirac distribution, nondestructive sizing