Colloidal brass nanoparticles produced by pulsed laser ablation in deionized water and the effect of external electric field on particle size characteristics and ablation rate

In this paper, we report production of colloidal brass particles by pulsed laser ablation in deionized water in the presence of external electric field (EEF). The colloidal brass particles have sizes ranging from nano-scale to submicron sizes. The ablation rate and particles production yield in the presence of EEF was studied. The paper also presents the results of investigations on surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and size distributions of particles. These investigations show that EEF influences the ablation process and increases the particle concentrations. According to results, applying EEF leads to rise of nanoparticles (NPs) yield and decrease of their average size. According to our results, a blue shift occurs for SPR when EEF is applied. [Display omitted] •Production of colloidal brass particles by pulsed laser ablation in deionized water.•The effect of external electric field (EEF) was investigated.•The colloidal brass particles have sizes ranging from nano-scale to about 550 nm.•The ablation rate and particles production yield rise in the presence of EEF.•The EEF rises particles average size.