Surface Plasmon Resonance-Enhanced Bathochromic-Shifted Photoluminescent Properties of Pure and Structurally Modified Electrospun Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) Nanofibers Incorporated with Green-Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with size of 5 nm to 10 nm have been prepared using Couroupita guianensis flower and characterized using various structural and molecular analysis techniques. We synthesized pure, surface-roughened and coaxial hollow electrospun poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanofibers from poly(ethylene oxide)–poly(methyl methacrylate) (PEO–PMMA) blends. Silver nanoparticle-incorporated PMMA nanofibers were prepared by dispersion method. Optical investigation of the silver nanoparticle-incorporated PMMA nanofibers was carried out by photoluminescence (PL) analysis, revealing that their photoluminescent properties depended on the concentration of nanoparticles incorporated. A surface plasmon resonance-enhanced bathochromic shift was observed for all the samples, with the structurally modified PMMA samples showing unique PL properties in terms of intensity and peak shifts depending on their structural modifications. The surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles added with the transparency of PMMA results in enhanced PL properties. Such silver nanoparticle-incorporated PMMA nanofibers could find various applications in optical, nanophotonic devices, etc.