Numerical Simulation of Light to Heat Conversion by Plasmonic Nanoheaters

Plasmonic nanoparticles are widely recognized as photothermal conversion agents, i.e., nanotransducers or nanoheaters. Translation of these materials into practical applications requires quantitative analyses of their photothermal conversion efficiencies (η). However, the value of η obtained for different materials is dramatically influenced by the experimental setup and method of calculation. Here, we evaluate the most common methods for estimating η (Roper's and Wang's) and compare these with numerical estimates using the simulation software ANSYS. Experiments were performed with colloidal gold nanorod solutions suspended in a hanging droplet irradiated by an 808 nm diode laser and monitored by a thermal camera. The ANSYS simulations accounted for both heating and evaporation, providing η values consistent with the Wang method but higher than the Roper approach. This study details methods for estimating the photothermal efficiency and finds ANSYS to be a robust tool where experimental constraints complicate traditional methods.