Structural and optical properties of novel surfactant-coated Yb@TiO 2 nanoparticles

[object Object] In this paper a novel hybrid approach to synthesise composite nanoparticles is presented. It is based on the laser ablation of a bulk target (Yb) immersed in a reversed micellar solution which contains nanoparticles of a different host material (TiO 2 nanoparticles) previously synthesised by chem- ical method. This approach thus exploits the advanta- ges of the chemical synthesis through reversed micellar solution (size control, nanoparticle stabilisation), and of the laser ablation (''clean'' synthesis, no side reactions). Central role is played by the microscopic processes controlling the deposition of the ablated Yb atoms onto the surface of TiO 2 nanoparticles which actually behave as nucleation seeds. The structural features of the resulting Yb@TiO 2 composite nano- particles have been studied by Transmission Electron