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Updated: May 20, 2026

Synthesis of Near-Infrared Emitting Gold Nanoclusters for Biological Applications
Published on: March 22, 2020
Luminescence quantum yield of single gold nanorods
Mustafa Yorulmaz1, Saumyakanti Khatua, Peter Zijlstra
1Institute of Physics, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9504, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
We study the luminescence quantum yield (QY) of single gold nanorods with different aspect ratios and volumes. Compared to gold nanospheres, we observe an increase of QY by about an order of magnitude for particles with a plasmon resonance >650 nm. The observed trend in QY is further confirmed by controlled reshaping of a single gold nanorod to a spherelike shape. Moreover, we identify two spectral components, one around 500 nm originating from a combination of interband transitions and the transverse plasmon and one coinciding with the longitudinal plasmon band. These components are analyzed by correlating scattering and luminescence spectra of single nanorods and performing polarization sensitive measurements. Our study contributes to the understanding of luminescence from gold nanorods. The enhanced QY we report can benefit applications in biological and soft matter studies.
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