A discrete interaction model/quantum mechanical method for describing response properties of molecules adsorbed on metal nanoparticles

Seth Michael Morton, Lasse Jensen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

86 Scopus citations

Abstract

A new polarizable quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics method for the calculation of response properties of molecules adsorbed on metal nanoparticles is presented. This method, which we denote the discrete interaction model/quantum mechanics (DIM/QM) method, represents the nanoparticle atomistically which enables the modeling of the influence of the local environment of a nanoparticle surface on the optical properties of a molecule. Using DIM/QM, we investigate the excitation energies of rhodamine-6G (R6G) and crystal violet (CV) adsorbed on silver and gold nanoparticles of different quasispherical shapes and sizes. The metal nanoparticle is characterized by its static total polarizability, a reasonable approximation for frequencies far from the plasmon resonance. We observe that for both R6G and CV, the presence of the nanoparticle shifts the strongest excitation to the red ∼40 nm and also increases the oscillator strength of that excitation. The shifts in excitation energies due to the nanoparticle surface are found to be comparable to those due to solvation. We find that these shifts decay quickly as the molecule is moved away from the surface. We also find that the wavelength shift is largest when the transition dipole moment is aligned with the edges of the nanoparticle surface where the electric field is expected to be the largest. These results show that the molecular excitations are sensitive to the local environment on the nanoparticle as well as the specific orientation of the molecule relative to the surface.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number074103
JournalJournal of Chemical Physics
Volume133
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 21 2010

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Physics and Astronomy(all)
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry

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