Engineering Optical Absorption in Late Transition-Metal Nanoparticles by Alloying

Alloying is an increasingly important handle to engineer the optical properties of metal nanoparticles that find applications in, for example, metamaterials, nanosensors, and plasmon-enhanced catalysis. One advantage alloying over traditionally used particle size shape engineering it, in principle, enables tuning without a spectral shift localized surface plasmon resonance, which where specific band targeted. A second simultaneously adjustment nanoparticle electronic, chemical, mechanical, light absorption properties. However, systematic survey impact on does not exist, despite its key role include photothermal therapy, plasmonic heat generation, Therefore, we present here screening binary late transition-metal alloys composed Au, Ag, Cu, Pd, Pt visible range, based combination experiments finite-difference time-domain simulations, discuss detail underlying physics. By studying these 10 alloy systems 14 different sizes, most experience maximal efficiency at around 80 nm diameter, outperform their neat constituents, with integrated enhancement factors up 200%. This highlights untapped potential nanoparticles, presented material constitutes resource rational selection tailored