Green synthesis of Au-Cu2-xSe heterodimer nanoparticles and their in-vitro cytotoxicity, photothermal assay.

We demonstrate a new route for the synthesis of heterogeneous nanoparticles (NPs) composed of a gold domain (Au) and a heavily doped semiconductor domain (Cu2-xSe) which exhibit a broad localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) arising from interactions between two nanocrystal domains. We also demonstrate the in-vitro cytotoxicity and photo thermal efficiency of as prepared Au-Cu2-xSe heterodimer nanoparticles. This work establishes a new way of tuning LSPR by engineering the density of free charge carriers in two interacting domains.