Formation mechanism of magnetic-plasmonic Ag@FeCo@Ag core-shell-shell nanoparticles: fact is more interesting than fiction

Combining different properties derived from different materials into a single nanoparticle allows diverse applications in many fields. In terms of plasmonic and magnetic properties, Ag and FeCo are the best candidates due to their optimal physical properties - Ag has the highest scattering cross-section of all plasmonic materials and FeCo has the highest saturation magnetization of all magnetic materials. Recently we have succeeded in synthesizing magnetic-plasmonic hybrid Ag@FeCo@Ag core-shell-shell nanoparticles; however, the formation mechanism of the hybrid nanoparticles was still unclear. In this study, we investigated the formation mechanism of the Ag@FeCo@Ag double shell nanoparticles. Understanding the formation mechanism will help in tuning the physical properties of the Ag@FeCo@Ag nanoparticles and in designing novel heterostructured nanoparticles.