Morphology and optical absorption change of Ag/SiO 2 core-shell nanoparticles under thermal annealing

Abstract

Ag/SiO 2 core shell nanoparticles can be potentially useful in solar cells with the expectation to enhance light absorption. Thermal stability of such nanoparticles would be an important issue and has not been investigated much in the past. This research studied both morphological and optical absorption changes when heat-treating Ag/SiO 2 core shell nanoparticles at various temperatures. At lower temperatures, Ag diffuses out through the porous shell, and remains inside at higher temperatures when the shell becomes solid. The results are instructive to further apply such nanoparticles into solar cells. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.