Title
Size and Shape Dependent Intra-Band Energy Spacing in Metal Nanoparticles
Authors
Akhilananda Kumara and K. Prasad*b
aDepartment of Physics, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya 824236, India
bUniversity Department of Physics, T.M. Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur, 812007, India
*Corresponding author E-mail address: prasad_k@tmbuniv.ac.in (K. Prasad)
Article History
Publication details: Received: 22nd March 2021; Revised: 13th April 2021; Accepted: 13th April 2021; Published: 19th April 2021
Cite this article
Akhilananda Kumar; Prasad K. Size and Shape Dependent Intra-Band Energy Spacing in Metal Nanoparticles. Nano Prog., 2021, 3(5), 34-37
Abstract
A simplified model is developed to account for particle size and shape-dependent spacing between the discrete energy levels in metal nanoparticles using the free-electron theory approach. The input parameters for this method are valency, number of atoms, the volume of nanoparticle, and the effective mass of the electron. It is considered that the electrons are confined in a small space which causes quantization of allowed energy states. Metal nanoparticles having the valency ranging between one and five e.g. Au, Mg, Al, Fe, and Nb have been considered for calculation. The calculated results show that the value of increases with decreasing particle size. Based on the model, it is predicted that the particle shape, as well as valency and effective mass of the electron, can also affect the spacing between the energy levels of nanoparticles.
Keywords
nanoparticles; nano-size; free-electron theory; shape dependent; size dependent; metals
