Photothermal heating and mechanical properties of Au/PEO and Ag/PEO nanocomposites*

In the current study, the photothermal effect of gold (Au) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles in poly(ethylene oxide) is investigated. Both Au and Ag nanoparticles were synthesized in-house and were characterized by dynamic light scattering, UV-Visible spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy experiments. The average size of the Au and Ag nanoparticles was found to be on average 8.9 and 8.4 nm, respectively. The Au/PEO and Ag/PEO nanocomposites containing 0.01--2{\%} nanoparticles (by weight) were prepared via solution mixing. Mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties were investigated by static and dynamic tests. The results indicate that the Young's modulus increases with increasing nanoparticle concentration, however, the modulus values reached a plateau at high concentrations. Both nanocomposites were heated via laser radiation at appropriate wavelengths and via traditional heating (using a heating stage). The temperature variations were measured through Raman spectroscopy experiments and by correlating Raman and traditional heating experiments.