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Simulation of the absorption spectra of nanometallic Al particles with core–shell structure: size-dependent interband transitions

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Abstract

Nanoaluminum combined with an oxidizing polymer binder is representative of a new class of nanotechnology energetic materials termed “structural energetic materials” that can be laser initiated by near-infrared heating of the Al particles. The visible and near-IR absorption spectra of Al nanoparticles passivated by the native oxide Al2O3, embedded in nitrocellulose (NC) binder, are simulated numerically using a model for the metallic dielectric function that incorporates the effects of interband transitions. The effects of oxide thickness, nanoparticle size and size distribution, and particle shape on the absorption characteristics are investigated. The nanoparticle spectra evidence an absorption peak and valley in the 550–1,100 nm range that redshift with decreasing nanoparticle size. Calculations indicate that this peak-valley structure results from interband transitions, and the unusual redshift cannot be explained without using an interband transition onset frequency that varies with nanoparticle size.

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Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work at the Harbin Institute of Technology supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 20573028). Work at the University of Illinois supported by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research under award FA9550-06-1-0235 and the US Army Research Office under award W911NF-04-1-0178.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Condensed Matter Science and Technology, Department of Physics, Harbin Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 406, Harbin, 150001, China

    Yajing Peng, Yinghui Wang & Yanqiang Yang

  2. School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Box 01-6 CLSL, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Dana D. Dlott

  3. Department of Physics, Bohai University, Jinzhou, 121013, China

    Yajing Peng

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  1. Yajing Peng
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  2. Yinghui Wang
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  3. Yanqiang Yang
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  4. Dana D. Dlott
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Correspondence to Yanqiang Yang or Dana D. Dlott.

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Peng, Y., Wang, Y., Yang, Y. et al. Simulation of the absorption spectra of nanometallic Al particles with core–shell structure: size-dependent interband transitions. J Nanopart Res 12, 777–787 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-009-9785-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-009-9785-9

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