Nanosecond pulse laser-induced fabrication of gold and silver-integrated cinnamon shell structure: Tunable fluorescence dynamics and morphology

Abstract

Various bio-compatible nanostructures with strong fluorescence and tailored physiochemical properties are desirable for the biomedicine and bioelectronics applications. Based on this fact, we prepared some gold/silver-integrated cinnamon shell structure (SS) using the nanosecond pulse laser ablation in liquid (PLAL) method and characterized systematically. The structure, morphology, color purity, absorption and fluorescence properties of these SS were tuned via the laser parameters variation to determine their practical applications feasibility. The HRTEM images of the produced SS showed the nucleation of the face centered cubic nanocrystallites with growth orientation along (1 1 1) and (2 0 0) lattice planes. The XRD and thermogravimetric analysis of the as-prepared samples confirmed their crystalline nature and thermal stability, respectively. The EDX spectra and maps of the studied SS revealed their corresponding atomic compositions and distributions. The FTIR and Raman spectra displayed the existence of bimolecular residues within the SS. These plasmonic SS demonstrated very strong UV–Vis absorbance, high fluorescence quantum yield (0.055) and blue emission color purity (CCT and CIE coordinate of 2454.93 K and 0.164, 0.1033) at room temperature. The lifetime decay analyses showed significant decrease of the donor in the presence of the luminescent SS (6.5 ± 5.46 ns), attributing to the interplay of radiative energy transfer and subsequent emission of the photons at longer wavelength in the SS. It is established that the PLAL fabricated SS may be useful for the antimicrobial drugs formulation and biophotonic applications.