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Dozens of gold clusters are dispersed in red stained glass. They absorb light and provide the stained glass with its beautiful red color. The Institute developed a method to prepare composites containing dispersed noble metal clusters, using polymers instead of glass. In the case of poly(methylmethacrylate)(PMMA), a noble metal complex is dissolved in liquid monomer and polymerized at a low temperature. Then it is heated to 120ºC-140ºC to obtain a composite of noble metal clusters and PMMA. The composites (see photos) are transparent and stained in colors specific to each noble metal. The composite that includes gold clusters, in particular, Presents the same exquisite red color as in stained glass. As the coloring principle of such composites is entirely different from that of organic colorants, the composites are expected to be useful as non-linear optical materials. At the same time, it has been found -because of the large interface area between the noble metals and the polymers - that they show outstanding dynamic characteristics such as elasticity rate.
Noble metal cluster/PMMA composite {Noble metal: Palladium(a), Platinum(b), Silver(c), Gold(d)} |