Peculiarities in light scattering by spherical particles with radial anisotropy

Light scattering by a spherical particle with radial anisotropy is discussed by extending Mie theory to diffraction by an anisotropic sphere, including both the electric and the magnetic anisotropy ratio. It is shown that radial anisotropy may lead to great modifications in scattering efficiencies and field enhancement, elucidating the importance of anisotropies in the control of scattering. The capacity for nondissipating damping is demonstrated for anisotropic spheres with different signs in radial and transversal permittivities.     

Nickel titanate microtubes constructed by nearly spherical nanoparticles: Preparation, characterization and properties

In this paper, we report the successful synthesis of NiTiO₃ microtubes constructed by nearly spherical nanoparticles via a simple solution-combusting method employing a mixture of ethanol and ethyleneglycol (V/V = 60/40) as the solvent, nickel acetate as the nickel source, tetra-n-butyl titanate as the titanium source and oxygen gas in the atmosphere as the oxygen source. The as-obtained product was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). The UV-vis absorption spectrum of the product showed two absorption peaks centered at 258.6 and 350.1 nm, respectively. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of the product was 14.06 m²/g and the pore size distribution mainly located from 20 to 30 nm. The photocatalytic degradation property of the product for organic dyes showed that the as-obtained porous NiTiO₃ microtubes could strongly promote the degradation of organic dyes including Pyronine B, Safranine T and Fluorescein.     

Local-field resonance in light scattering by a single water droplet with spherical dielectric inclusions

Light scattering by an evaporating water droplet several micrometers in size with spherical dielectric inclusions was investigated. The evolution of the droplet radius and the effective refractive index was determined. A deviation from predictions by standard effective-medium theories in the form of a resonance was encountered. Simple analysis of the phenomenon was conducted, and a qualitative explanation was proposed.     

Mie theory for light scattering by a spherical particle in an absorbing medium

Analytic equations are developed for the single-scattering properties of a spherical particle embedded in an absorbing medium, which include absorption, scattering, extinction efficiencies, the scattering phase function, and the asymmetry factor. We derive absorption and scattering efficiencies by using the near field at the surface of the particle, which avoids difficulty in obtaining the extinction based on the optical theorem when the far field is used. Computational results demonstrate that an absorbing medium significantly affects the scattering of light by a sphere.     

Effects of particle size and surrounding media on optical radiation efficiencies of spherical plasmonic metal nanoparticles

The optical radiation efficiency (??), the ratio of scattering cross-section to extinction cross-section, of spherical metal nanoparticles (M $\boldsymbol=$ Al, Ag, Au and Cu) surrounded by glass and water was calculated using classical electrostatics. The effect of varying particle diameter (~100?nm) on ?? was also studied for free space wavelengths in the range of 400?C1200?nm. The variations in the value of ?? with the diameter (d) of the metal nanoparticles were calculated on the basis of quasi-static approximation. The ?? increases with the size of metal nanoparticles. Corresponding to a metal nanoparticle, ?? was found to exhibit a sharp dip (?? _dip) at a characteristic wavelength (?? _?? )_M in a particular medium (?? = air, glass and water). (?? _?? )_M was independent of particle size. The (?? _medium)_M was found to be slightly blue shifted for all metal nanoparticles surrounded by glass or water with respect to those in the air.     

Rainbow scattering by a cylinder with a nearly elliptical cross section

We both theoretically and experimentally examine the behavior of the first- and the second-order rainbows produced by a normally illuminated glass rod, which has a nearly elliptical cross section, as it is rotated about its major axis. We decompose the measured rainbow angle, taken as a function of the rod's rotation angle, into a Fourier series and find that the rod's refractive index, average ellipticity, and deviation from ellipticity are encoded primarily in the m = 0, 2, 3 Fourier coefficients, respectively. We determine these parameters for our glass rod and, where possible, compare them with independent measurements. We find that the average ellipticity of the rod agrees well with direct measurements, but that the rod's diameter inferred from the spacing of the supernumeraries of the first-order rainbow is significantly larger than that obtained by direct measurement. We also determine the conditions under which the deviation of falling water droplets from an oblate spheroidal shape permits the first few supernumeraries of the second-order rainbow to be observed in a rain shower.     

Orientation-preserving transfer and directional light scattering from individual light-bending nanoparticles

A nanocup, or semishell, is an asymmetric plasmonic "Janus" nanoparticle with electric and magnetic plasmon modes; the latter scatters light in a direction controlled by nanoparticle orientation, making it the nanoscale analog of a parabolic antenna. Here we report a method for transferring nanocups from their growth substrate to oxide-terminated substrates that precisely preserves their three-dimensional orientation, enabling their use as nanophotonic components. This enables us to selectively excite and probe the electric and magnetic plasmon modes of individual nanocups, showing how the scattered light depends on the direction of incoming light and the orientation of this nanoparticle antenna.     

Electromagnetic-wave scattering by a sphere with multiple spherical inclusions

An exact solution to the problem of electromagnetic-wave scattering from a sphere with an arbitrary number of nonoverlapping spherical inclusions is obtained by use of the indirect mode-matching technique. A set of linear equations for the wave amplitudes of the electric field intensity throughout the inhomogeneous sphere and in the surrounding empty space is determined. Numerical results are calculated by truncation and matrix inversion of that set of equations. Specific information about the truncation number pertaining to the multipole expansions of the electric field intensity is given. The theory and the accompanying computer code successfully reproduce the results of other pertinent papers. Some numerical results [Borghese et al., Appl. Opt. 33, 484 (1994)] were not reproduced well, and that discrepancy is discussed. Our numerical investigation is focused on an acrylic sphere with up to four spherical inclusions. This is the first time that numerical results are presented for a sphere with more than two spherical inclusions. Interesting remarks are made about the effect that the look direction and the structure of the inhomogeneity have on backscattering by the acrylic host sphere.     

Study on self-assembly of gold nanoparticles directed by glutathione with resonance light scattering technique and its analytical applications

In this paper, it has been demonstrated that gold nanoparticles can self-assemble to form network structure in the presence of glutathione, which results in great enhancement of resonance light scattering (RLS). Results from this RLS experiments confirm that RLS is a sensitive and convenient technique for studying the self-assembly of nanoparticles. The principles of the enhanced RLS of nanoparticle assemblies are discussed, and the mechanism of the interaction between gold nanoparticles and glutathione is investigated. The enhanced RLS of gold nanoparticle assemblies directed by glutathione is also successfully applied to sensitive determination of glutathione. Under the optimal conditions, the calibration curve for glutathione determination is linear in concentration range of 0.01-0.1 microg/ml, and the corresponding detection limit is 4.7 ng/ml (3sigma, 15.3 nM).     

Fe@Ag core-shell nanoparticles with both sensitive plasmonic properties and tunable magnetism

Monodisperse Fe@Ag core-shell nanoparticles with relatively uniform Fe cores and Ag shells have been successfully fabricated by a seed mediated method in a two-step reducing process, and then characterized by electron microscopy techniques (HRTEM, EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectroscopy,and magnetometry. The results demonstrate unique optical and magnetic properties for Fe@Ag core-shell nanoparticles. The surface plasmon resonance of Fe@Ag core-shell nanoparticles is red shifted as compared with that of pure colloidal nano-silver, while the plasmon band of Fe@Ag core-shell nanoparticles with thinner Ag shells is shifted to a longer wavelength. Fe@Ag core-shell nanoparticles have a narrow plasmon band and therefore sensitive plasmonic properties. The magnetism of Fe@Ag nanoparticles can be tuned from superparamagnetic to ferromagnetic by modifying the proportion between Fe and Ag contents. The multifunctional Fe@Ag core-shell nanoparticles have potential in optoelectronic, spintronic, and biomedicine applications.     

表面效应对动态光散射纳米粒径测量的影响

为探究表面效应对动态光散射法测量纳米粒度的影响,设计一种宽度可调的样品池,采用基于高速线阵CCD的动态光散射测量系统,对不同粒径的标准SiO_2颗粒进行测量。结果表明:样品池宽度小于1.3 mm时,粒径测量值随通道宽度减小线性增大,宽度为0.6 mm时,粒径测量值与自由空间中的测量值差距超过5%;样品池宽度较小时,颗粒布朗运动受到明显影响,动态光散射仪中使用微量样品池时,应根据样品池宽度对测量结果进行修正。     

Separation of nanoparticles by gel electrophoresis according to size and shape

We demonstrate the separation of gold and silver nanoparticles according to their size and shape by agarose gel electrophoresis after coating them with a charged polymer layer. The separation is monitored optically using the size- and shape-dependent plasmon resonance of noble metal particles and confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrophoretic mobilities are quantitatively explained by a model based on the Henry formula, providing a theoretical framework for predicting gel mobilities of polymer coated nanoparticles.     

Detection of neurotransmitters by a light scattering technique based on seed-mediated growth of gold nanoparticles

A simple light scattering detection method for neurotransmitters has been developed, based on the growth of gold nanoparticles. Neurotransmitters (dopamine, L-dopa, noradrenaline and adrenaline) can effectively function as active reducing agents for generating gold nanoparticles, which result in enhanced light scattering signals. The strong light scattering of gold nanoparticles then allows the quantitative detection of the neurotransmitters simply by using a common spectrofluorometer. In particular, Au-nanoparticle seeds were added to facilitate the growth of nanoparticles, which was found to enhance the sensing performance greatly. Using this light scattering technique based on the seed-mediated growth of gold nanoparticles, detection limits of 4.4 × 10(-7)?M, 3.5 × 10(-7)?M, 4.1 × 10(-7)?M, and 7.7 × 10(-7)?M were achieved for dopamine, L-dopa, noradrenaline and adrenaline, respectively. The present strategy can be extended to detect other biologically important molecules in a very fast, simple and sensitive way, and may have potential applications in a wide range of fields.     

Geometrical-optics solution to light scattering by droxtal ice crystals

We investigate the phase matrices of droxtals at wavelengths of 0.66 and 11 microm by using an improved geometrical-optics method. An efficient method is developed to specify the incident rays and the corresponding impinging points on the particle surface necessary to initialize the ray-tracing computations. At the 0.66-microm wavelength, the optical properties of droxtals are different from those of hexagonal ice crystals. At the 11-microm wavelength, the phase functions for droxtals are essentially featureless because of strong absorption within the particles, except for ripple structures that are caused by the phase interference of the diffracted wave.     

Quantitative characterization of gold nanoparticles by field-flow fractionation coupled online with light scattering detection and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

An analytical platform coupling asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF(4)) with multiangle light scattering (MALS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) was established and used for separation and quantitative determination of size and mass concentration of nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous suspension. Mixtures of three polystyrene (PS) NPs between 20 and 100 nm in diameter and mixtures of three gold (Au) NPs between 10 and 60 nm in diameter were separated by AF(4). The geometric diameters of the separated PS NPs and the hydrodynamic diameters of the Au and PS NPs were determined online by MALS and DLS, respectively. The three separated Au NPs were quantified by ICPMS and recovered at 50-95% of the injected masses, which ranged between approximately 8-80 ng of each nanoparticle size. Au NPs adhering to the membrane in the separation channel was found to be a major cause for incomplete recoveries. The lower limit of detection (LOD) ranged between 0.02 ng Au and 0.4 ng Au, with increasing LOD by increasing nanoparticle diameter. The analytical platform was applied to characterization of Au NPs in livers of rats, which were dosed with 10 nm, 60 nm, or a mixture of 10 and 60 nm nanoparticles by intravenous injection. The homogenized livers were solubilized in tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), and the recovery of Au NPs from the livers amounted to 86-123% of their total Au content. In spite of successful stabilization with bovine serum albumin even in alkaline medium, separation of the Au NPs by AF(4) was not possible due to association with undissolved remains of the alkali-treated liver tissues as demonstrated by electron microscopy images.     

Simultaneous determination of refractive index and size of spherical dielectric particles from light scattering data

The diameter and refractive index of micrometer sized spherical dielectric particles are simultaneously deduced using the wavelength dependence of backscattering data from optically levitated particles. The accuracy of the results is set by experimental errors in the determination of the wavelength of backscatter resonance peaks and the ratio of slopes of specified peaks. At present the refractive index and diameter can be deduced with relative errors of 5 x 10(-5). This represents the most accurate determination of absolute size and refractive index yet made by light scattering. A reduction of these errors by an order of magnitude is possible. We assume a priori knowledge of diameter and refractive index with accuracy of 10(-1) and 5 x 10(-3), respectively.     

The Effect of flux types on the formation of green light emitting phosphor particles with spherical shape and filled morphology

(CeTb)MgAl₁₁O₁₉ (CTMA) phosphor particles were prepared by high-temperature spray pyrolysis from spray solutions with various types of flux materials. The particles prepared from spray solutions with ammonium dihydrogen phosphate and lithium carbonate fluxes had spherical shape and filled morphology at temperatures of 900^∘C and 1650^∘C. On the other hand, the particles prepared from spray solutions without flux material had hollow and fractured morphology at temperatures of 900^∘C and 1650^∘C. The melting of flux material formed the spherical intermediate particles with filled morphology. These spherical intermediate particles were formed from spray solutions with flux material that transformed into spherical CTMA phosphor particles with filled morphology at a high-preparation temperature. The phosphor particles prepared by spray pyrolysis from the spray solution with appropriate flux materials at 1650^∘C had high photoluminescence intensities, spherical shape, and filled morphology.     

Dynamic light scattering and atomic force microscopy techniques for size determination of polyurethane nanoparticles

Nanoparticles have applications in various industrial fields principally in drug delivery. Nowadays, there are several processes for manufacturing colloidal polymeric systems and methods of preparation as well as of characterization. In this work, Dynamic Light Scattering and Atomic Force Microscopy techniques were used to characterize polyurethane nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were prepared by miniemulsion technique. The lipophilic monomers, isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and natural triol, were emulsified in water containing surfactant. In some formulations the poly(ethylene glycol) was used as co-monomer to obtain the hydrophilic and pegylated nanoparticles. Polyurethane nanoparticles observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) were spherical with diameter around 209 nm for nanoparticles prepared without PEG. From AFM imaging two populations of nanoparticles were observed in the formulation prepared with PEG (218 and 127 nm) while dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements showed a monodisperse size distribution around 250 nm of diameters for both formulations. The polydispersity index of the formulations and the experimental procedures could influence the particle size determination with these techniques.