Computational and Experimental Analysis of Gold Nanorods in Terms of Their Morphology: Spectral Absorption and Local Field Enhancement

A nanoparticle's shape and size determine its optical properties. Nanorods are nanoparticles that have double absorption bands associated to surface plasmon oscillations along their two main axes. In this work, we analize the optical response of gold nanorods with numerical simulations and spectral absorption measurements to evaluate their local field enhancement-which is key for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic (SERS) applications. Our experimental results are in good agreement with finite element method (FEM) simulations for the spectral optical absorption of the nanoparticles. We also observed a strong dependence of the optical properties of gold nanorods on their geometrical dimension and shape. Our numerical simulations helped us reveal the importance of the nanorods' morphology generated during the synthesis stage in the evaluation of absorption and local field enhancement. The application of these gold nanorods in surface-enhancement Raman spectroscopy is analyzed numerically, and results in a 5.8 x 10(4) amplification factor when comparing the values obtained for the nanorod deposited on a dielectric substrate compared to the nanorod immersed in water.

Automated summary

The shape and size of nanoparticles determine their optical properties. Gold nanorods exhibit surface plasmon oscillations and have a strong dependence on their optical properties on geometric dimensions and shape. Numerical simulations revealed the importance of nanorods' morphology in evaluating absorption and local field enhancement, with potential applications in surface-enhancement Raman spectroscopy.