Dependence of the localized surface plasmon resonance of noble metal quasispherical nanoparticles on their crystallinity-related morphologies.

The absorption spectra of 5 nm noble metal nanoparticles (Ag, Au, and Cu) with typical morphologies of multiply twinned particles (MTPs) and single crystals are calculated by using the discrete dipole approximation method. Among the considered morphologies, it is found that icosahedral, cuboctahedral and truncated octahedral particles behave like quasispherical particles whereas the optical response of the decahedral particles significantly differs from the others. This result, which originates from the shape anisotropy of the decahedron, points out the capacity to discriminate decahedral MTPs from a population of particles with mixed crystallinities and related quasispherical shapes.