Optical Properties: UV/Vis Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy and Photoluminescence

Many functional properties of metal oxide nanoparticles and nanoparticle-based materials are determined by ee details of their interaction with electromagnetic radiation in the UV/Vis/NIR region. In many applications, the control of reflection, refraction, absorption, and scattering of the incident light is a prerequisite for systematically tuning the materials' optical properties and for triggering the physical or chemical response of a material to photoactivation, respectively. The broad application of UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy in the field of oxide nanoparticles covers monitoring of chemical reactions during materials synthesis, the analysis of bulk and surface properties, and the investigation of processes at interfaces between nanoparticle surfaces and surrounding media. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy provides access to the absorption spectrum of a solid that scatters the incident light. Photoluminescence describes the process of light emission by a molecule or solid upon the transition from an excited electronic state that was populated by light absorption to its ground state.