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Abstract
The dependence of the optical properties of spherical gold nanoparticles on particle
size and wavelength were analyzed theoretically using multipole scattering theory,
where the complex refractive index of gold was corrected for the effect of a reduced
mean free path of the conduction electrons in small particles. To compare these theoretical
results to experimental data, gold nanoparticles in the size range of 5 to 100 nm
were synthesized and characterized with TEM and UV-vis. Excellent agreement was found
between theory and experiment. It is shown that the data produced here can be used
to determine both size and concentration of gold nanoparticles directly from UV-vis
spectra. Equations for this purpose are derived, and the precision of various methods
is discussed. The major aim of this work is to provide a simple and fast method to
determine size and concentration of nanoparticles.
[1
]Centre for Nanoscale Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Crown
Street L69 7ZD, U.K., and School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool,
Crown Street L69 7ZB, U.K.