Optical Properties of Silver-Copper Alloy Nanoparticles/Polystyrene Nanocomposite

Abstract- Plasmonic metal nanoparticles dispersed in transparent polymeric matrices have been a subject of great interest in area of plasmonic devices and optical limiters. In the present study, optical properties of silver-copper alloy nanoparticle/polystyrene nanocomposite have been investigated. Silver-copper alloy nanoparticles of different size were synthesized with DC arc discharge in chloroform as polymer solvent. Nanocomposites were prepared by direct casting method of polystyrene solution in chloroform containing bimetallic silver-copper nanoparticles. The morphology, structure, dispersion of nanoparticles, and optical properties of silver-copper alloy nanoparticle/polystyrene nanocomposite were characterized by SEM, XRD and UV/visible spectroscopy. The samples exhibited particle size and stoichiometry dependent of optical properties especially surface plasmon resonance wavelength. The results can provide an inexpensive versatile technique for tuning optical properties of plasmonic nanocomposite devices via changing the size and stoichiometry of dispersed bimetallic nanoparticles. Keywords - ,, ,