Optical absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy of the growth of silver nanoparticles

TL;DR

This study uses optical absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy to explore exciton formation and structural changes in silver-exchanged glass, revealing how annealing temperature influences nanoparticle growth and optical properties.

Contribution

First to report exciton formation in silver-exchanged glass via optical spectroscopy and to link thermal treatment with nanoparticle growth and optical property changes.

Findings

Exciton formation observed in silver-exchanged glass.

Thermal annealing causes structural rearrangements of silver and oxygen.

PL intensity correlates with nanoparticle growth during heat treatment.

Abstract

Results obtained from the optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy experiments have shown the formation of excitons in the silver-exchanged glass samples. These findings are reported here for the first time. Further, we investigate the dramatic changes in the photoemission properties of the silver-exchanged glass samples as a function of postannealing temperature. Observed changes are thought to be due to the structural rearrangements of silver and oxygen bonding during the heat treatments of the glass matrix. In fact, photoelectron spectroscopy does reveal these chemical transformations of silver-exchanged soda glass samples caused by the thermal effects of annealing in a high vacuum atmosphere. An important correlation between temperature-induced changes of the PL intensity and thermal growth of the silver nanoparticles has been established in this Letter through precise spectroscopic studies.