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Sestak, Matejka, Vlckova:
pole–dipole interaction, two excited surface plasmon states originate and two absorp-
tion bands, one at lower energy than the monomer (single particle) absorption band, the
other at a higher energy, are observed. Differences in the SPA spectra of SERS active
systems with different adsorbates are ascribed to a varying degree of the Ag colloid
aggregation2. In our previous studies3–6, we found systematical differences in the SPA
spectra of SERS-active systems containing polymeric (i.e. proteins4) and/or oligomeric
(i.e. polypeptide3, Triton X-100 (refs5,6)) species in comparison to the spectra of sys-
tems formed by monomeric species. In this paper, we first introduce the hypothesis
which provides a possible explanation of the differences between the SPA curves of the
Ag colloid/monomeric adsorbate systems and those of Ag colloid/polymeric (oli-
gomeric) systems. Furthermore, in order to verify our hypothesis, we present here the
results of the calculations of the energy states of a linear colloidal aggregate.
HYPOTHESIS
The second maximum of plasmon absorption, which is observed in systems containing
species of monomeric nature in the 540–620 nm range, is ascribed to SPA of the aggre-
gates of spherical colloidal particles. In contrast to that, for SERS-active systems con-
taining species of polymeric character, only an asymmetric broadening of the original
monomer (single particle) peak towards higher wavelengths is typical (without appear-
ance of a pronounced second maximum). Up to now, no explanation concerning the
origin of a different character of the plasmon absorption curves for systems formed by
polymeric (oligomeric) and monomeric species has been published. On the basis of our
previous results3–6, we introduce here a hypothesis, that differences between plasmon
absorption curves are given by different distances of Ag colloidal particles in the aggre-
gates. We assume that for the monomeric adsorbates, the colloidal particles in aggre-
gates are almost in touch with each other (D = 0 nm), while for aggregates formed by
polymeric or oligomeric species, non-zero distances between individual spheres (Ag
colloidal particles) have to be considered. To verify this hypothesis, we have developed
a new model of colloidal aggregate which combines Aravind’s and Fornasiero’s theore-
tical approaches1,7. The model describes a linear aggregate of spheres (Ag colloidal
particles) mutually interacting by a dipole–dipole interaction in which the inter-sphere
distances are generally non-zero and are involved as an adjustable parameter in the
calculations of the energy states of the aggregate. In our calculation, the dipole–dipole
interactions of the spheres in the linear aggregate are considered as a perturbation af-
fecting the energy of the excited plasmon state of an assembly of N non-interacting
^
spheres and is expressed in terms of the perturbation operator V. The perturbation energies
Vmin (stabilization energy) and Vmax (destabilization energy) of the excited plasmon
state of a linear aggregate of N spheres interacting by the dipole–dipole interactions
will be calculated as eigenvalues of the perturbation matrix (the matrix representation
^
of the perturbation operator V). The Vmin values will thus represent the stabilization
Collect. Czech. Chem. Commun. (Vol. 61) (1996)