CNR ExploRA

Articolo in rivista, 2020, ENG, 10.3390/nano10010132

Spectroscopic and Microscopic Analyses of Fe3O4/Au Nanoparticles Obtained by Laser Ablation in Water

Muniz-Miranda, Maurizio; Muniz-Miranda, Francesco; Giorgetti, Emilia

a Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Via Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Italy b Institute of Complex Systems (CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Italy c École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris and PSL Research University, CNRS, Institute of Chemistry for Life, Health Sciences (i-CLeHS), FRE 2027, 11, rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, F-75005, France

Magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles constituted of gold and iron oxide were obtained in an aqueous environment by laser ablation of iron and gold targets in two successive steps. Gold nanoparticles are embedded in a mucilaginous matrix of iron oxide, which was identified as magnetite by both microscopic and spectroscopic analyses. The plasmonic properties of the obtained colloids, as well as their adsorption capability, were tested by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy using 2,2 '-bipyridine as a probe molecule. DFT calculations allowed for obtaining information on the adsorption of the ligand molecules that strongly interact with positively charged surface active sites of the gold nanoparticles, thus providing efficient SERS enhancement. The presence of iron oxide gives the bimetallic colloid new possibilities of adsorption in addition to those inherent to gold nanoparticles, especially regarding organic pollutants and heavy metals, allowing to remove them from the aqueous environment by applying a magnetic field. Moreover, these nanoparticles, thanks to their low toxicity, are potentially useful not only in the field of sensors, but also for biomedical applications.

Nanomaterials (Basel) 10 (1)