Measurement of Gold Nanoparticle Solutions on the LAMBDA 265 Personal Array UV/Visible Spectrophotometer

Gold nanoparticles are of interest in the study of modern materials. They have unique optical, electronic, and thermal properties and are used in a wide range of applications including diagnostics assays, microscopy and electronics. Although of interest in the quest to find novel materials, they have been used since ancient times as a pigment for stained glass. Gold nanoparticle solutions exhibit different optical properties compared with gold in its more familiar “macro” form as they have a reddish color which changes as the particle size increases. The measurement of these optical properties using the LAMBDA™ 265 Personal Array UV/Visible Spectrophotometer is demonstrated in this application note.