Comparison of characteristics of selected metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles produced by picosecond laser ablation at 532 and 1064 nm wavelengths

Picosecond laser generation of nanoparticles was only recently reported. The effect of laser wavelength in picosecond laser generation of nanoparticles is not yet fully understood. This investigation reports the new findings comparing the characteristics of Au, Ag, Ag–TiO2, TiO2, ZnO and iron oxide nanoparticles generated by picosecond laser ablation in deionised water at 532 and 1064 nm laser wavelengths. The laser ablation was carried out at a fixed pulse width of 10 ps, a repetition rate of 400 kHz and a scan speed of 250 mm/s. The nanoparticles were characterised by UV–Vis optical spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The work shows that there is no noticeable difference in the size of the metal oxide nanoparticles produced at 532 and 1064 nm, especially for the TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles; however, a considerable size difference can be seen for metallic (e.g. Au) and metallic compound (e.g. Ag–TiO2) nanoparticles at the two wavelengths. It demonstrates that noble metals are more profoundly affected by laser wavelengths. The reasons behind these results are discussed. In addition, the work shows that there are different crystalline structures of the TiO2 nanoparticles at 1064 and 532 nm wavelengths.