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The transport of low-energy electrons through the coating of aradiosensitizing metallic nanoparticle under fast ion irradiation is analyzedtheoretically and numerically. As a case study, we consider a poly(ethyleneglycol)-coated gold nanoparticle of diameter 1.6~nm excited by a carbon ion inthe Bragg peak region in water as well as by more energetic carbon ions. Thediffusion equation for low-energy electrons emitted from a finite-sizespherical source representing the surface of the metal core is solved to obtainthe electron number density as a function of radial distance and time.Information on the atomistic structure and composition of the coating isobtained from molecular dynamics simulations performed with the MBN Explorersoftware package. Two mechanisms of low-energy electron production by themetallic core are considered: the relaxation of plasmon excitations andcollective excitations of valence $d$ electrons in individual atoms of gold.Diffusion coefficients and characteristic lifetimes of electrons propagating ingold, water, and poly(ethylene glycol) are obtained from relativistic partialwave analysis and the dielectric formalism, respectively. On this basis, thenumber of electrons released through the organic coating into the surroundingaqueous medium and the number of hydroxyl radicals produced are evaluated. Thelargest increase of the radical yield due to low-energy electrons is observedwhen the nanoparticle is excited by an ion with energy significantly exceedingthat in the Bragg peak region. It is also shown that the water content of thecoating, especially near the surface of the metal core, is crucial for theproduction of hydroxyl radicals.

the european physical journal. d, atomic, molecular and optical physics/the european physical journal. d, atomic, molecular, optical and plasma physics

Transport of secondary electrons through coatings of ion-irradiated metallic nanoparticles