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Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 2200 - 2203 (2000)

Size-Dependent Electron-Electron Interactions in Metal Nanoparticles

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C. Voisin, D. Christofilos, N. Del Fatti, and F. Vallée
Laboratoire d'Optique Quantique du CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau cedex, France

B. Prével
Département de Physique des Matériaux, Université Lyon I, 69622 Villeurbanne cedex, France

E. Cottancin, J. Lermé, M. Pellarin, and M. Broyer
Laboratoire de Spectrométrie Ionique et Moléculaire, Université Lyon I, 69622 Villeurbanne cedex, France

Received 28 April 2000

The internal thermalization dynamics of the conduction electrons is investigated in silver nanoparticles with radius ranging from 13 to 1.6 nm using a femtosecond IR pump–UV probe absorption saturation technique. A sharp increase of the electron energy exchange rate is demonstrated for nanoparticles smaller than 5 nm. The results are consistent with electron-electron scattering acceleration due to surface induced reduction of the Coulomb interaction screening by the conduction and core electrons.


©2000 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.85.2200
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.85.2200
PACS: 78.47.+p, 42.65.-k, 73.61.Tm

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