Abstract

When studying a phenomenon of giant (up to 10¹⁰ times) enhancement in rate of aggregation of fractal nanostructures, caused by light in hydrosoles of silver, spectral features of its photoemission nature were discovered.^1-3 That means that rate of photostimulated aggregations must be determined by the value of photoemission current from the particles. A similar conclusion was made in Ref. 4, where an increase in photocoagulation rate of Ag nanoparticles in aerosols was found to be accompanied by an increase in photoelectron emission. This work shows that photostimulated aggregation of nanoparticles into fractal structures in colloids is stipulated not only by one-photon but also by two-photon photoeffect, even at intensities of illuminating light on the order of solar.

© 1998 Optical Society of America