Growth and optical properties of gold nanoshells prior to the formation of a continuous metallic layer.

The growth and optical properties of incomplete gold layers on silica particles (229 nm) are studied using visible/near-infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The gold particles that eventually coalesce to form a continuous gold layer are found to have droplet-like shapes. The optical properties of these systems are different from those of complete gold nanoshells. Using the discrete dipole approximation, it is found that the plasmon modes of such systems should exhibit two bands: one from 500-600 nm ("high energy") and the other from 600-800 nm ("low energy"). The calculations show that, for increasing coating density of the droplet-like particles, the lower energy band (i) becomes stronger relative to the higher energy band and (ii) is red-shifted. Both of these trends are found in the spectra of the prepared particles. Furthermore, the observed plasmon bands fall within the limits established by the model.