Facile Fabrication of Novel Sensing System for Size Detection of Nanoparticles

We report a novel platform for sensing different sizes of noble metal nanoparticles. Exploiting evanescent field-based excitation of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), gold, and silver nanoparticles are immobilized on to surface of a U-shaped silica optical fiber with a bending diameter of 0.5 cm. We contemplate variation in LSPR responses with respect to diverse sizes ranging from ~5 to 60 nm of nanoparticles in this all fiber optic setup. Further, examining coefficient of excitation of different sized nanoparticles yielded by simulation shows good matching with experimental results. While gold nanoparticle immobilized LSPR response provides better sensitivity, the response achieved from silver nanoparticle are much more stabilized. The successful proof-of-concept fabrication of LSPR-enhanced silica fiber is the first step of its kind in generating facile size measurement.