In situ optical study of the phase transformation kinetics of plasmonic Ag in laser-irradiated nanocomposite glass

• Ag nanocomposite glass was laser-irradiated to induce nanoparticle photofragmentation.
• Irradiated samples were stored at room temperature for three years with no deterioration.
• Plasmonic evolution post-laser was followed in real time during in situ thermal processing.
• The activation energy for the plasmonic Ag phase transformation was determined.

A real-time spectroscopic study of the optical response of plasmonic Ag produced during thermal processing of laser-irradiated silver nanocomposite glass has been carried out. Specifically, this work addresses the early stage of in situ heat treatment prior to the plasmonic coupling which has been reported for relatively high temperatures and long holding times [13]. The data supports the plasmonic Ag phase transformation in the confined “super nucleation” regimes created as a result of the photofragmentation of Ag nanoparticles by the laser pulses. Consistent application of the Kolmogorov–Johnson–Mehl–Avrami theory in the 623–653 K relatively low temperature range to optical data collected in the 1–15 min time window allows for determining an activation energy for the phase transformation in the non-interacting regime at 0.55 (± 0.04) eV.