Formation of the alloy of Au and Ag nanoparticles upon laser irradiation of the mixture of their colloidal solutions

The formation dynamics of the alloy of gold and silver nanoparticles is studied upon laser irradiation of the mixture of these nanoparticles and factors affecting the alloy formation are determined. Individual nanoparticles are obtained by ablation of the corresponding metals in water or ethanol by copper vapour laser radiation at a wavelength of 510.6 nm close to the maximum of the plasmon resonance of gold particles at 518 nm. The intermediate phase of the alloy characterised by an anomalous red shift of the absorption spectrum is found for the first time. The dependences of the absorption spectrum of the alloy of colloidal particles of these metals and their morphology on the irradiation time are obtained. It is found that the rate of the alloy formation depends on the concentrations of nanoparticles and surfactants in the mixture.