Fabrication of metal nanoparticles by laser ablation

Laser ablation (LA) has proven itself as one of the most efficient physical methods for nanofabrication When the ablation is performed in a liquid environment, metallic and semiconductor colloids are produced This technique is usually free of containments, which are generally associated with colloids created using a chemical synthesis method A wide range of size distribution and plasmon-resonant properties have been reported in the literature However, in some cases the role of pulse energy and other processing parameters on the characteristics of laser-ablated gold nanoparticles is contradictory In this chapter we perform a systematic investigation ofthe role of processing parameters on nanoparticle generation. We study the effect of pulse energy, focusing conditions, exposure time, and pulse repetition frequency on the characteristics of gold nanoparticles ablated in pure deionised water. In addition, we demonstrate the ability of cetyl trimethylammonium bromide to control the size of the produced particles. Further studies on the stability of these gold nanoparticles were carried out in ambient laboratory conditions for two months.