Dynamic optical properties of amorphous diamond-like carbon nanocomposite films doped with Cu and Ag nanoparticles

Abstract

The investigation of relaxation processes in noble metal nanoparticles upon ultrafast excitations by femtosecond laser pulses is useful to understand the origin and the enhancement mechanism of the nonlinear optical properties for metaldielectric nanocomposites. In the current work we analyze diamond like carbon (DLC) film based copper and silver nanocomposites with different metal content synthesized employing unbalanced magnetron sputtering of metal targets with argon ions in acetylene gas atmosphere. Surface morphology and nanoparticle sizes were analyzed employing scanning electron and atomic force microscopy. Optical properties of the nanocomposite films were analyzed employing UV-VIS-NIR spectrometry. Transient absorption measurements were obtained employing Yb:KGW femtosecond laser spectroscopic system (HARPIA, Light Conversion Ltd.). Energy relaxation dynamics in Cu nanoparticles showed some significant differences from Ag nanoparticles. The increase of excitation intensity hasn't show additional nonlinear effects for the excited state relaxation dynamics for both kinds of samples.

Diamond like carbon nanocomposites with embedded metallic nanoparticles

“…This kind of measurements enables one to investigate the spectral composition of the absorption spectrum revealing typical regions related to the excitation of absorption states, ground state bleaching (fraction of the particles that has been promoted to the excited state through the action of the pump pulse, the number of particles in the ground state has been decreased) or stimulated emission (stimulated emission results in an increase of light intensity on the detector, corresponding to a negative ΔA signal). In addition to the spectral composition, the temporal dependence of the absorption factor at different wavelengths is available [94,139,140].…”

Enhancing Polyvinyl Alcohol Nanocomposites with Carboxy-Functionalized Graphene: An In-Depth Analysis of Mechanical, Barrier, Electrical, Antibacterial, and Chemical Properties

“…In addition, several studies focused on fabricating PVA composites with graphene, predominantly for the purpose of measuring conductivity [ 38 , 39 , 40 ], with minimal emphasis on the evaluation of mechanical performance due to the propensity of graphene to reduce the strength of PVA. Consequently, previous research largely concentrated on the use of graphene oxide (GO) for PVA nanocomposites because of its abundance of functional groups [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. However, the high cost of GO presents a significant barrier to its scalability for industrial applications.…”

Characterization of network bonding created by intercalated functionalized graphene and polyvinyl alcohol in nanocomposite films for reinforced mechanical properties and barrier performance

“…reported that nano-ZnO and nano-SiO 2 could effectively improve the mechanical strength, moisture and oxygen barrier properties, and hydrophobicity of composite films. Thomas et al [27]. discovered that incorporating or embedding cupric nanoparticles into PVA enhanced the mechanical properties, tensile strength, and Young's modulus of the nanocomposite relative to pure PVA.…”