Molybdenum oxide nanocolloids prepared by an external field-assisted laser ablation in water

¹ Dip. di Scienze Matematiche e Informatiche, Scienze Fisiche e Scienze della Terra (MIFT),Università di Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy
² Dip. di Scienze Chimiche, Biologiche, Farmaceutiche ed Ambientali, Università di Messina, Italia

^* Corresponding author: salspadaro@unime.it (S. Spadaro);
^* Corresponding author: martinabonsi@virgilio.it (M. Bonsignore)

Published online: 9 January 2018

Abstract

he synthesis of extremely stable molybdenum oxide nanocolloids by pulsed laser ablation was studied. This green technique ensures the formation of contaminant-free nanostructures and the absence of by-products. A focused picosecond pulsed laser beam was used to ablate a solid molybdenum target immersed in deionized water. Molybdenum oxide nearly spherical nanoparticles with dimensions within few nanometers (20-100 nm) are synthesized when the ablation processes were carried out, in water, at room temperature and 80°C. The application of an external electric field during the ablation process induces a nanostructures reorganization, as indicated by Scanning-Transmission Electron Microscopy images analysis. The ablation products were also characterized by some spectroscopic techniques: conventional UV-vis optical absorption, atomic absorption, dynamic light scattering, micro-Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. Finally, NIH/3T3 mouse fibroblasts were used to evaluate cell viability by the sulforhodamine B assay