An optical investigation of silver nanoclusters composite soda-lime glass formed by electric field assisted diffusion

Silver nanoclusters (NCs) embedded in soda-lime glass was synthesized by the electric fieldassisted diffusion (EFAD) and successive annealing. The samples were characterized by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and lifetime measurements. The experimental results show that the growth of silver clusters is favored by the annealing temperature and dwell time. The as-diffused and annealed glass samples show photoluminescence around 550 nm under UV excitation, which can be associated with the presence of L-center and Ag₃ ⁺ cluster. And the increasing of the annealing temperature and dwell time results in an appearance of the SPR peak and the decreasing of the luminescence intensities because the Ag₃ ⁺ clusters grow up into the Ag nanoparticles.