Quantifying the Blue Shift in the Light Absorption of Small Gold Nanoparticles

The dependence of the surface plasmons resonance (SPR) frequency on the size of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) is experimentally studied. The measured data for the SPR frequency by UV-Vis spectroscopy and GNPs diameter by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) are collected in the course of classical citrate GNPs synthesis. The relationship between the GNPs size and the blue shift of the light absorption is presented. They are fitted by an equation with a single free parameter, the dielectric permittivity of the surrounding media. Thus, the refractive index of the surrounding media is determined, which characterizes the GNPs surface shell.