Facile fabrication and properties of core–shell structure Ag@Al2(SiO3)3 nanocomposites with controllable morphologies

• Ag@Al2(SiO3)3 core–shell nanoparticles with controllable morphologies were synthezied.
• The crystallinity of Ag nanostructures preserved well after coating process.
• The average thickness of Al2(SiO3)3 shell is 10–25 nm.
• These Ag@Al2(SiO3)3 nanoparticles exhibit significant optical properties and reveal a potential application in plasmonic relevant area.

The core–shell structure Ag@Al2(SiO3)3 nanocomposites were prepared by depositing a thin layer of Al2(SiO3)3 on as-synthesized Ag nanostructures through a precipitation reaction of Al2(SO4)3 and Na2SiO3. The controllable morphologies of these core–shell nanocomposites were obtained via tailoring the sizes and morphologies of Ag cores during the synthesis process. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis on Ag cores indicated different characteristic bands from nanocubes to nanorods. Microstructure analysis by SEM and TEM showed that the obtained Ag@Al2(SiO3)3 have typical core–shell structure and an average shell thickness of 10 nm for nanorods and 25 nm for nanocubes. The absorption peaks of these Ag@Al2(SiO3)3 nanocomposites are significantly red-shifted comparing with those of uncoated Ag nanostructures.

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