The optical nonlinearity of gold nanoparticles prepared by bioreduction method

Nonlinear optical and electronic properties of nanosized metal particles have drawn considerable attention because of their strong and size-dependent plasmon resonance absorption. In a metal nanoparticle system such as gold dispersed in a transparent matrix, an absorption peak due to surface plasmon resonance is usually observed in the visible spectral region. Metal nanoparticles are of special interest as nonlinear materials for optical switching and computing because of their relatively large third-order nonlinearity (χ3) and ultrafast response time. The purpose of this study was to analyze the nonlinear optical properties of biosynthesized gold nanoparticles. The samples were prepared by biosynthesis method using yeast extract as reducing agent and the nonlinear optical properties of the nanoparticles were investigated using a single beam Z-scan technique with a beam power of 20 mW and operated at wavelength of 514 nm. The reaction between metal ions and yeast extracts were monitored by UV–visible spectra of Au nanoparticles in aqueous solution with different pH (3-6). The surface plasmon peak position was shifted from 528 nm to 573 nm, according to of pH variation 4 to 6. The average particle size was calculated by the absorption peak position using the Fernig method, from 42 to 103 nm. The z-scan curves showed a negative nonlocal nonlinear refractive index with a magnitude dependent on the nanoparticle size.