Pulsed laser ablation in liquids for the production of gold nanoparticles and carbon quantum dots: from plasmonic to fluorescence and cell labelling

The synthesis of high purity ligand free nanoparticles represents one of the requirements for nanotechnology application in highly relevant fields as nanomedicine and theranostics. Laser synthesis and processing of colloids permits the synthesis of ligand free nanoparticles with reduced impurities from bulk targets and colloidal dispersions. In the present contribution a novel approach for enhanced production of ligand free gold nanoparticles by femtosecond ablation of a bulk target is studied together with a more efficient synthesis of fluorescent carbon quantum dots from a colloidal suspension of carbon microparticles in polyethylene glycol.