Generation of nanoparticles of bronze and brass by laser ablation in liquid

Nanoparticles of brass and bronze are generated by ablation of corresponding bulk targets in liquid ethanol. The experiments were performed using three pulsed lasers with different pulse duration: ytterbium fiber laser (80 ns), a Neodymium:YAG laser (10 ps), and femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser (200 fs). The generated nanoparticles (NPs) are characterized by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, Raman scattering, and Transmission Electron Microscopy. The size of generated NPs lies in the range 10-25 nm depending on the laser source. The X-ray diffractometry reveals the change of phase composition of brass NPs compared to the initial target in case of ablation with 80 ns laser source, while with 10 ps laser pulses this effect is less pronounced. Brass NPs generated with pico- and femtosecond laser radiation show the plasmon resonance in the vicinity of 560 nm and no plasmon peak for NPs generated with longer laser pulses. Raman analysis shows the presence of Cu2O in generated NPs. The stability of generated NPs of both brass and bronze to oxidation is compared to that of Cu NPs generated in similar experimental conditions.