Abstract
Keeping in view the fascinating properties of noble materials in the nanoscale, we synthesized nanocomposite materials from Au and Ag metals in the form of core/shell structure by a simple, eco-friendly, inexpensive, and fast method. This method is pulsed laser ablation of Ag plate immersed in chloroauric acid solution using Nd:YAG solid state laser (1064 nm, 7 ns, 10 Hz). Physicochemical investigations were performed by different techniques for structural, morphological and optical characterization of the prepared nanocomposite, including characterization of linear and nonlinear properties. Crystalline structure of Au and Ag was confirmed with Au in the shell and Ag in the core of the resulting nanocomposite. The nonlinear optical characterization of the prepared nanocomposite was investigated by Z-scan technique using the second harmonic of the same laser source. The prepared Au@Ag core/shell nanocomposite showed a tuning of nonlinearity characteristic property between that of the nanoparticles composed of Au or Ag. In result, this material could represent an advanced nonlinear material as a promising candidate for optical limiting applications.