DNA-based self-assembly of chiral plasmonic nanostructures with tailored optical response

Matter structured on a length scale comparable to or smaller than the wavelength of light can exhibit unusual optical properties. Particularly promising components for such materials are metal nanostructures, where structural alterations provide a straightforward means of tailoring their surface plasmon resonances and hence their interaction with light. But the top-down fabrication of plasmonic materials with controlled optical responses in the visible spectral range remains challenging, because lithographic methods are limited in resolution and in their ability to generate genuinely three-dimensional architectures. Molecular self-assembly provides an alternative bottom-up fabrication route not restricted by these limitations, and DNA- and peptide-directed assembly have proved to be viable methods for the controlled arrangement of metal nanoparticles in complex and also chiral geometries. Here we show that DNA origami enables the high-yield production of plasmonic structures that contain nanoparticles arranged in nanometre-scale helices. We find, in agreement with theoretical predictions, that the structures in solution exhibit defined circular dichroism and optical rotatory dispersion effects at visible wavelengths that originate from the collective plasmon-plasmon interactions of the nanoparticles positioned with an accuracy better than two nanometres. Circular dichroism effects in the visible part of the spectrum have been achieved by exploiting the chiral morphology of organic molecules and the plasmonic properties of nanoparticles, or even without precise control over the spatial configuration of the nanoparticles. In contrast, the optical response of our nanoparticle assemblies is rationally designed and tunable in handedness, colour and intensity-in accordance with our theoretical model.     

Solving surface plasmon resonances and near field in metallic nanostructures: Green’s matrix method and its applications

With the development of nanotechnology, many new optical phenomena in nanoscale have been demonstrated. Through the coupling of optical waves and collective oscillations of free electrons in metallic nanostructures, surface plasmon polaritons can be excited accompanying a strong near field enhancement that decays in a subwavelength scale, which have potential applications in the surface-enhanced Raman scattering, biosensor, optical communication, solar cells, and nonlinear optical frequency mixing. In the present article, we review the Green’s matrix method for solving the surface plasmon resonances and near field in arbitrarily shaped nanostructures and in binary metallic nanostructures. Using this method, we design the plasmonic nanostructures whose resonances are tunable from the visible to near-infrared, study the interplay of plasmon resonances, and propose a new way to control plasmonic resonances in binary metallic nanostructures.     

双开口劈裂方环/方形环中磁法诺共振的调控

基于有限元法,从理论上研究了双开口劈裂方环/方形环纳米结构(double split ringsquare ring,DSR-SR)中的等离子体共振和局域电磁场增强等光学特性.由于方形内环的亮模式和双开口劈裂环的暗模式的相互干涉,在该结构中产生了磁法诺共振现象,通过改变该结构的几何参数,可以实现对共振峰位置和强度的有效调控.计算结果表明,该结构中的共振峰对周围介质折射率变化敏感,品质因子最高可达到25.3,并且各共振峰处的局域电场和局域磁场都有很大增强.基于该结构的这些性质,它可以应用于传感器、多光谱表面增强光谱学、低损耗的磁性等离激元的传播和其他基于磁性法诺的光学器件.     

局域表面等离子体研究进展

阐述了局域表面等离子体特性,金属纳米粒子的常用制备方法,以及不同形状、尺寸等因素对局域表面等离子体光谱和灵敏度的影响,分析了表面增强拉曼散射的增强因子与金属纳米粒子的等离子共振波长和拉曼激发波长之间的关系,介绍了局域表面等离子体在生物传感方面的应用.     

Optical nano-imaging of gate-tunable graphene plasmons

The ability to manipulate optical fields and the energy flow of light is central to modern information and communication technologies, as well as quantum information processing schemes. However, because photons do not possess charge, a way of controlling them efficiently by electrical means has so far proved elusive. A promising way to achieve electric control of light could be through plasmon polaritons—coupled excitations of photons and charge carriers—in graphene. In this two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms, it is expected that plasmon polaritons and their associated optical fields can readily be tuned electrically by varying the graphene carrier density. Although evidence of optical graphene plasmon resonances has recently been obtained spectroscopically, no experiments so far have directly resolved propagating plasmons in real space. Here we launch and detect propagating optical plasmons in tapered graphene nanostructures using near-field scattering microscopy with infrared excitation light. We provide real-space images of plasmon fields, and find that the extracted plasmon wavelength is very short—more than 40 times smaller than the wavelength of illumination. We exploit this strong optical field confinement to turn a graphene nanostructure into a tunable resonant plasmonic cavity with extremely small mode volume. The cavity resonance is controlled in situ by gating the graphene, and in particular, complete switching on and off of the plasmon modes is demonstrated, thus paving the way towards graphene-based optical transistors. This successful alliance between nanoelectronics and nano-optics enables the development of active subwavelength-scale optics and a plethora of nano-optoelectronic devices and functionalities, such as tunable metamaterials, nanoscale optical processing, and strongly enhanced light–matter interactions for quantum devices and biosensing applications.     

Plasmonic coupling in single flower-like gold nanoparticle assemblies

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) arises when light interacts with metallic nanoparticles (NPs). When nanoparticles (NPs) assemble together, the plasmon coupling effect between the NPs often leads to new features in the LSPR of the assembled structure. Understanding the plasmon coupling in the complex assemblies will greatly benefit the development of new plasmonic devices. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of a 3D structure using two different sized Au NPs as building blocks. This 3D structure was achieved by manipulating the binding efficiency of ligands linking the NPs, and proper choice of the NP size. The assembled structure is flower-like structure, with one 130 nm Au NP in the center, and several 40 nm Au NPs attaching as “petals”. Single particle dark-field scattering measurements of the individual assemblies were performed, together with electrodynamics simulations. The experimental and theoretical studies show that, the plasmonic coupling lead to broadening of the LSPR and additional peaks, depending on the number and 3D arrangement of the 40 nm NPs around the center 130 nm NP.     

Gate-tuning of graphene plasmons revealed by infrared nano-imaging

Surface plasmons are collective oscillations of electrons in metals or semiconductors that enable confinement and control of electromagnetic energy at subwavelength scales. Rapid progress in plasmonics has largely relied on advances in device nano-fabrication, whereas less attention has been paid to the tunable properties of plasmonic media. One such medium--graphene--is amenable to convenient tuning of its electronic and optical properties by varying the applied voltage. Here, using infrared nano-imaging, we show that common graphene/SiO(2)/Si back-gated structures support propagating surface plasmons. The wavelength of graphene plasmons is of the order of 200 nanometres at technologically relevant infrared frequencies, and they can propagate several times this distance. We have succeeded in altering both the amplitude and the wavelength of these plasmons by varying the gate voltage. Using plasmon interferometry, we investigated losses in graphene by exploring real-space profiles of plasmon standing waves formed between the tip of our nano-probe and the edges of the samples. Plasmon dissipation quantified through this analysis is linked to the exotic electrodynamics of graphene. Standard plasmonic figures of merit of our tunable graphene devices surpass those of common metal-based structures.     

聚(丙烯酸-丙烯酸羟乙酯)/Fe3O4磁流体的制备及表征

用聚(丙烯酸-丙烯酸羟乙酯)[P(AA-co-HEA)]处理纳米Fe3O4粒子,制备了以配位键结合的分散稳定的磁流体。用凝胶渗透色谱(GPC)和核磁共振谱(NMR)对P(AA-co-HEA)的分子量和共聚物两组分的含量进行了表征,用透射电镜(TEM),红外光谱(FT-IR),紫外-可见光谱(UV-v is)和磁性能测量系统(M PM S)对P(AA-co-HEA)/Fe3O4复合材料进行了表征。结果表明:处理后的Fe3O4粒子粒径为10 nm左右,共聚物中丙烯酸组分通过配位键结合在Fe3O4粒子表面,悬浮液分散稳定并且具有对外磁场快速响应的特点,其复合材料还具有超顺磁性的特性。     

等离子体太阳电池的研究进展

 高效太阳电池是近年太阳电池产业发展的目标,等离子体太阳电池技术则是近年来研究的比较活跃的高效太阳电池技术之一。该文对等离子体太阳电池,从原理,材料到技术的最新研究进展做了比较全面的论述。等离子体太阳电池主要是利用贵金属纳米颗粒的表面等离子体效应增强太阳电池的光吸收。该技术既可以用在传统的硅电池上也可以用在薄膜电池上,尤其适用于作为薄膜电池的陷光结构,并且易于和传统的电池制造工艺相结合,有实现商业化的潜力。     

Au纳米耦合结构表面等离激元的EELS分析

应用透射电子显微镜中电子能量损失谱仪(TEM-EELS),对电子束激发的单晶Au纳米线耦合结构及单晶/多晶纳米薄膜的表面等离激元(SPs)特征进行分析.结果表明:直径约为10 nm的两单晶Au纳米线平行耦合时,单根纳米线和耦合结构中均存在位于2.4 eV 的SPs共振,耦合结构中SPs的纵模数增加;单晶及多晶Au纳米薄膜在1.4 eV附近存在SPs模式,相较于单晶薄膜,多晶Au纳米薄膜的SPs共振峰位出现明显红移.     

Single scattering particles based analytical techniques

Single scattering particles,especially noble metal(plasmonic) nanoparticles,based analytical techniques are attractive recently and becoming the research focus of the light scattering analytical techniques.In this mini review,we summarize the single scattering particles based analytical techniques in the past decade including single scattering particles counting,single plasmonic nanoparticles sensing,and single plasmonic nanoparticles tracking/imaging.We emphasize the discussion on the single plasmonic nanoparticles sensing that combines with dark-field microscopy and resonant Rayleigh scattering spectroscopy.     

Synthesis and characterization of Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>@SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> magnetic composite nanoparticles by a one-pot process

Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ core–shell composite nanoparticles were successfully prepared by a one-pot process. Tetraethyl-orthosilicate was used as a surfactant to synthesize Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ core–shell structures from prepared Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. The properties of the Fe₃O₄ and Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ composite nanoparticles were studied by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The prepared Fe₃O₄ particles were approximately 12 nm in size, and the thickness of the SiO₂ coating was approximately 4 nm. The magnetic properties were studied by vibrating sample magnetometry. The results show that the maximum saturation magnetization of the Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ powder (34.85 A·m2·kg–1) was markedly lower than that of the Fe₃O₄ powder (79.55 A·m2·kg–1), which demonstrates that Fe₃O₄ was successfully wrapped by SiO₂. The Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ composite nanoparticles have broad prospects in biomedical applications; thus, our next study will apply them in magnetic resonance imaging.     

Separation of hydrophobic gold nanoparticles less than 10 nm by electrophoresis

An electrophoresis device was used to separate hydrophobic gold nanoparticles with particle size less than 10 nm dispersed in organic solvent. Image of transmission electron microscope （TEM） and UV-Vis spectra showed that the particles in the vicinity of cathode have a smaller mean diameter than those near the anode. This result indicates that the nanogolds in chloroform bring a positive charge in opposition to what is predicted by Coehn rule, and provides an electrophrosis method for separating hydrophobic nanogold particles of different sizes.     

电弧法合成填充金属纳米粒子的碳纳米管

用阳极弧法合成了碳纳米管内包覆铁和钴等金属纳米粒子.对合成物用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、电子能谱(EDS)和Raman光谱等方法进行了鉴定和表征.发现包覆粒子的多壁碳纳米管的平均直径约为35nm,其端部和内部包覆的粒子不连续分布、粒径基本均匀,约为20nm.分析了阳极弧等离子体法合成碳纳米管内包覆金属纳米粒子的形成机理.     

Surface modification of Fe3O4 nanoparticles and their magnetic properties

Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by the hydrothermal method, and the influences of the surfactant sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuecinate (AOT) on the particles were investigated. The structure, morphology, and magnetic properties of the products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). It is confirmed that the as-prepared nanoparticles have been modified by using the surfactant during the synthesis process. The amount of the surfactant has an effect on the size, the dispersal, and the magnetic properties of the particles. Besides, the mechanisms of the influences were also discussed.     

不同尺寸Fe3O4磁性颗粒的制备和表征

在水溶液体系中用溶胶-凝胶的方法通过改变各反应物的浓度制备不同尺寸的Fe3 O4磁性颗粒,用X-射线衍射(XRD)、X-透射电子显微镜(TEM)、电子衍射(ED)对不同大小的颗粒进行了结构和形貌的表征,此外还运用了振动样品磁强计(VSM)对其进行磁学特性测量.结果表明,这种方法能够制备不同粒径的立方尖晶石结构的Fe3 O4磁性颗粒,并且粒径不同的Fe3 O4磁性颗粒形貌、磁性均有所不同.     

液相激光烧蚀合成TiO_2纳米颗粒及其XPS研究

采用液相激光烧蚀法制备了二氧化钛纳米颗粒,研究了二氧化钛纳米颗粒的生长与微结构．XRD、TEM、XPS等表征表明：此方法可在室温条件下一步获得金红石型二氧化钛纳米颗粒胶体,颗粒直径约50nm,尺寸分布窄,分散性好,从而显示出良好的应用前景．结合微观表征与激光诱导的瞬态等离子体分析对TiO2纳米颗粒形成机理进行了探讨．     

不对称纳米环/椭球二聚体的高阶表面等离激元共振特性

基于三维有限元法,研究了不对称纳米环/椭球二聚体的表面等离激元共振和局域场增强光学特性。结果可得可调的高阶表面等离激元共振,这样的高阶共振源于纳米环和纳米椭球之间的等离激元耦合。同时,在两个纳米结构耦合下,在纳米椭球上可以观察到环形电流,其产生了增强的局域电磁场。数值模拟结果表明,纳米环/椭球二聚体的偏心方向和偏心率对表面等离激元共振有着重要的影响。此结果在表面增强光谱学和生物传感方面都有着潜在的应用。     

双键功能化的金纳米粒子的制备与表征

通过四辛基溴化铵稳定的金纳米粒子(TOAB-Au)与含可聚合双键的二硫化物配体之间的置换反应,制备了四种双键功能化的金纳米粒子,并通过紫外光谱、红外光谱、X-光电子能谱、透射电镜和热重分析对金纳米粒子的形貌和组成进行了表征。结果表明,双键功能化的金纳米粒子能够稳定地分散在氯仿和四氢呋喃溶剂中,粒子直径在4 nm到8 nm之间,表面等离子共振吸收峰随配体的不同在521 nm到532 nm之间改变。四种双键功能化的金纳米粒子的表面配体接枝密度在4.2到6.6之间。     

磁性荧光复合粒子的合成、表征及DNA检测应用研究

以NaOH作为沉淀剂,在水相中合成了直径约为10nm的Fe3O4磁性纳米粒子,以Fe3O4为核层原料以CdTe量子点为壳层原料合成了Fe3O4／CdTe磁性荧光复合粒子。合成的Fe3O4／CdTe磁性荧光复合粒子经测试具有良好的磁性核荧光性能。以Fe3O4／CdTe作为能量供体3,端修饰有淬灭剂BHQ-2的单链DNA作为能量受体合成分子灯塔探针,成功构建了荧光共振能量转移体系,所合成的探针可利用磁铁与游离的5,-DNA-3．-BHQ-2进行快速分离。该探针在和与探针DNA序列完全互补的目标弓形虫DNA杂交后,荧光强度得到了恢复,实现了对弓形虫DNA的高灵敏度检测。