Ab initio simulations of opticalproperties of noble-metal clusters

Abstract

The fundamental research interest in nanometric pieces of noble metals is mainly due to the localized surface-plasmon resonance (LSPR) in the optical absorption. Different aspects related to the theoretical understanding of LSPRs in ‘intermediate-size’ noble-metal clusters are studied in this thesis. To gain a broader perspective both the real-time ab initio formalism of time–dependent density-functional theory (RT-TDDFT) and the classical electromagnetics approach are employed. A systematic and detailed comparison of these two approaches highlights and quantifies the limitations of the electromagnetics approach when applied to quantum-sized systems. The differences between collective plasmonic excitations and the excitations involving d-electrons, as well as the interplay between them are explored in the spatial behaviour of the corresponding induced densities by performing the spatially resolved Fourier transform of the time-dependent induced density obtained from a RT-TDDFT simulation using a -kick perturbation. In this thesis, both bare and ligand-protected noble-metal clusters were studied. In particular, motivated by recent experiments on plasmon emergence phenomena, the TDDFT study of Au-Cu nanoalloys in the size range just below 2 nm produced subtle insights into the general effects of alloying on the optical response of these systems