Figure 1.

(A) under the influence of an external oscillating electromagnetic field, usually provided by laser light, the free electrons of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) start to oscillate. When the amplitude of this oscillation is maximal, this phenomenon is referred to as Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR); (B) irradiation of AuNPs with nanosecond laser pulses can lead to the formation of water vapour nanobubbles (VNBs) or heat transfer to the surrounding environment, depending on whether high or low intensity laser pulses are used.