Influence of size and morphology on the optical properties of carbon nanostructures

Optical properties of carbon nanostructures produced by laser ablation method in different liquid environments have been studied experimentally. In this work we used a 7 ns fundamental wavelength of pulsed Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm and 10 Hz repetition rate to produce carbon nanostructures including graphene in distilled water, acetone, alcohol, and CTAB. Structure and morphology of carbon nanostructures were studied using their UV–Vis-NIR spectrum, TEM images, and Raman scattering spectrum. Results show that in our experimental condition distilled water was the most capable medium for producing graphene. Color of suspensions varied with the amount of carbon nanoparticles in the suspension while the bandgap energy of samples decreases with increasing the amount of graphene.