Accurate geometric characterization of gold nanorod ensemble by an inverse extinction/scattering spectroscopic method

Aspect ratio, width, and end-cap factor are three critical parameters defined to characterize the geometry of metallic nanorod (NR). In our previous work [Opt. Express 21, 2987 (2013)], we reported an optical extinction spectroscopic (OES) method that can measure the aspect ratio distribution of gold NR ensembles effectively and statistically. However, the measurement accuracy was found to depend on the estimate of the width and end-cap factor of the nanorod, which unfortunately cannot be determined by the OES method itself. In this work, we propose to improve the accuracy of the OES method by applying an auxiliary scattering measurement of the NR ensemble which can help to estimate the mean width of the gold NRs effectively. This so-called optical extinction/scattering spectroscopic (OESS) method can fast characterize the aspect ratio distribution as well as the mean width of gold NR ensembles simultaneously. By comparing with the transmission electron microscopy experimentally, the OESS method shows the advantage of determining two of the three critical parameters of the NR ensembles (i.e., the aspect ratio and the mean width) more accurately and conveniently than the OES method.