Tailoring core size, shell thickness, and aluminum doping of Au@AZO core@shell nanoparticles

Plasmonic materials, such as gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), exhibit significant extinction and near-field enhancement across the visible and near-infrared spectrum, attributable to localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs). Epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials, such as aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) are known in non-linear optics for their ability to generate and manipulate light-matter interactions through processes like higher harmonic generation. Combining doped ZnO with plasmonic materials therefore holds promise for enhancing non-linear efficiencies and tuning their operational wavelengths. To date, however, only top-down structures based on plasmonically decorated thin ENZ films have been realized, and no colloidal and scalable route to obtain these hybrid materials has been reported yet. Here, we introduce a novel colloidal synthesis approach for fabricating Au@AZO core@shell nanoparticles with tunable core size, shell thickness, and dopant concentration, allowing for the spectral alignment of the LSPRs of the AuNPs with the non-linear optical properties of the AZO shells. Our method involves the colloidal synthesis of gold cores followed by a controlled sol-gel process to deposit ZnO and AZO shells, resulting in core diameters ranging from 25 to 69 nm, shell thicknesses from 16 to 47 nm, and aluminum doping levels between 0 and 4 at.%. Our procedure widens the range of hybrid plasmonic nanostructures that can be colloidally synthesized, opening new possibilities for the large scale fabrication of high-performance nanomaterials for integration in photonic, photocatalytic, and sensing applications.