ABSTRACT
Laser ablation in a liquid environment is of considerable interest
as a new tool for preparing nanoparticles. Pioneering work by
Patil, Henglein, and others proved the possibility of nanoparticle
fabrication by quenching.1−3 Mafune´ et al. introduced a chemical approach to laser ablation in liquid by reporting the surfactant
effects on noble metal nanoparticle formation in water by laser
ablation of bulk noble metal,4 and their work triggered the
application of this technique to various material systems. Carbon-
related materials have also been the target of this technique for
exotic nanomaterial fabrication (e.g., nanodiamond, nanohorn, and
nanoonion).5,6
The advantages of “laser ablation in liquid” are (1) inexpensive
equipment for controlling the ablation atmosphere, (2) simplicity of
the procedure, and (3) the minimum amount of chemical species
required for synthesis, compared with the conventional chemical
process. Because of these advantages, laser ablation in liquid has
attractedmuch attention as a novel tool for nanoparticle fabrication.
