No CrossRef data available.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of undecylenic acid surface functionalized planar Si (001) was investigated in the presence of colloidal Ag nanoparticles. The acid passivated Si surface has a weak PL at 1125 nm. Upon exposure to a Ag nanoparticle sol, the PL quenched exponentially with a characteristic decay time of ∼ 18 minutes. It is known that the metal mediated charge-transfer process provides a pathway for energy decay and leads to a quenching of luminescence in light emitting material. An in-situ study of the surface passivated Si revealed that the Ag nanoparticle was likely to have come into contact or was sited close enough to the semiconductor surface through adsorption to cause effective PL quenching.