Synthesis and Photothermal Properties of UV-Plasmonic Group IV Transition Metal Carbide Nanoparticles

Refractory nanostructures are low-cost and chemically and thermally robust alternatives to noble metal based plasmonic materials. Transition metal nitrides have received much of the attention lately, but there has been less emphasis on closely related non-layered carbide counterparts. In this work, plasmonic group IV transition metal carbide (TiC, ZrC, and HfC) nanostructures were prepared using a facile magnesiothermic reduction method which yielded phase pure product. TiC, ZrC and HfC with rock salt crystal structure and an average particle size of 24, 31, and 42 nm, respectively were obtained by reacting corresponding metal oxide, magnesium, and biochar in solid-state. Calculations performed using finite element method predicted these group IV carbide nanostructures to have localized surface plasmon resonance in the UV region between 150 175 nm. The photothermal transduction efficiency of each carbide was explored to further verify the plasmonic behavior. HfC was found to have the highest photothermal transduction efficiency (73%), followed by ZrC (69%), and then TiC (60%) at 365 nm.