LSPR effects of Au nanoparticles/ZnO nano-composite films

1In this study, the Au nanoparticle-modified ZnO composite films deposited on ITO glass were presented. First of all, ZnO nanorods film was prepared by using chemical bath deposition (CBD). Au nanoparticles solutions were prepared by a non-toxic photochemical method, which was characterized by using an UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The LSPR (Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance) effect of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) solutions shows an obvious peak of absorbance which is located at 519 nm. The AuNPs/ZnO NRs film prepared by self-assembly method was investigated by using an UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The LSPR effects of AuNPs/ZnO NRs composite film show obvious peaks of absorbance located at 371 nm and 524 nm. The results show that AuNPs/ZnO NRs composite films have demonstrated the characteristics and the effects of AuNPs and ZnO NRs. Finally, AuNPs/ZnO NRs is used to detect the refractive index of different environments. The LSPR effects show obvious peaks of absorbance accompanying with a red shift in the wavelengths, where the peaks are located at 524 nm, 534.5 nm, 535.5 nm and 539 nm respectively for the environments in air (R.I. = 1.00), water (R.I. = 1.33), ethanol (R.I. = 1.36) and methanol (R.I. = 1.44).