Ultrafast Laser-Ablated Nanoparticles and Nanostructures for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering-Based Sensing Applications

Laser ablation and liquids technique focuses on synthesizing nanoparticles and nanostructures by ablating a target material in liquid or gas environment, forming ecofriendly nanoparticles without any surfactants. This research scope involves refining the laser parameters, analyzing nanoparticle properties, exploring synthesis mechanisms, and discovering applications in various fields such as catalysis, sensing, electronics, energy storage, and biomedical imaging. Recent developments in laser ablation for nanomaterial fabrication involve tailoring the nanoparticle sizes, shapes, and composition, scalable production methods, hybrid nanomaterial synthesis, and surface functionalization.

These advances offer improved stability, extended shelf life, high scalability that is up to few grams per hour, and commercially viable colloidal nanoparticles and surface nanostructures production for diverse applications. In recent times, various other improvisations such as ultrafast vessel beam and vortex beam ablation processes have been implemented to generate exotic nanostructures, as well as nanoparticles, with tuneable shapes, sizes, and topographies. Technologies advancing nanoparticle synthesis via ultrafast laser ablation include molecular dynamic simulations for understanding the formation of these nanoparticles.

Precise control for tailoring nanoparticle size, shape, and composition in C.2 TEM characterization and real time monitoring techniques. The experimental challenges involved are automation techniques through improved instrumentation and technology, addressing the initial establishment cost of the laser ablation technique itself, ensuring proper sample preparation, controlling the contamination, and announcing data analysis and interpretation for increased accuracy and reliability of the results. In our laboratory, we have investigated diverse materials such as gold, silver, zinc, titanium, copper, silicone, gallium arsenide, germanium, graphene oxide, Hafnium, and various biome metallic, trimetallic, and plus monoxides.

Laser ablation experiments were conducted in different environments using various focusing conditions for precise material processing and nanoparticle synthesis.