Effect of a thioalkane capping layer on the first hyperpolarizabilities of gold and silver nanoparticles

Abstract

We have measured the first hyperpolarizabilities of thioalkane capped silver and gold metallic nanoparticles. The values found are β(AgC 12-10 nm) = (2.10 ± 0.23) × 10(-26) esu for 10 nm diameter silver nanoparticles and β(AuC 18-18 nm) = (3.37 ± 0.08) × 10(-26) esu for 18 nm diameter gold nanoparticles at the fundamental wavelength of 784 nm. By comparison to the corresponding values reported for citrate capped silver and gold metallic nanoparticles, after size corrections, decreases by factors of 4.3 and 6.5 respectively are observed. These decreases are tentatively attributed to the bonds formed between the gold and silver surface atoms and the sulfur atoms of the capping layer.