Does shining light on gold colloids influence aggregation?

ABSTRACT: In this article we revisit the much-studied behavior of self-assembled aggregates of gold colloidal particles. In the literature, the electrostatic interactions, van der Waals interactions, and the change in free energy due to ligand-ligand or ligand-solvent interactions are mainly considered to be the dominating factors in determining the characteristics of the gold aggregates. However, our light scattering and imaging experiments clearly indicate a distinct effect of light in the growth structure of the gold colloidal particles. We attribute this to the effect of a non-uniform distribution of the electric field in aggregated gold colloids under the influence of light.

SUBMITTER: Bhattacharya S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4048914 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature