Preparation and characterization of Au-Ag and Au-Cu alloy nanoparticles in chloroform

Au-Ag and Au-Cu nanoparticles of various compositions were synthesized in chloroform and their physical properties were characterized by employing various techniques such as UV-Visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The synthesized alloy nanoparticles of diameter ca. 3 nm exhibit characteristic photoelectron spectra and linear optical properties. The nonlinear optical properties of the alloy nanoparticles were also investigated in the surface plasmon absorption region by the degenerate four wave mixing technique.