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Mechanotunable Surface Lattice Resonances in the Visible Optical Range by Soft Lithography Templates and Directed Self-Assembly
We demonstrate a novel colloidal self-assembly approach toward obtaining mechanically tunable, cost-efficient, and low-loss plasmonic nanostructures that show pronounced optical anisotropy upon mechanical deformation. Soft lithography and template-assisted colloidal self-assembly are used to fabricate a stretchable periodic square lattice of gold nanoparticles on macroscopic areas. We stress the impact of particle size distribution on the resulting optical properties. To this end, lattices of narrowly distributed particles (∼2% standard deviation in diameter) are compared with those composed of polydisperse ones (∼14% standard deviation). The enhanced particle quality sharpens the collective surface lattice resonances by 40% to achieve a full width at half-maximum as low as 16 nm. This high optical quality approaches the theoretical limit for this system, as revealed by electromagnetic simulations. One hundred stretching cycles demonstrate a reversible transformation from a square to a rectangular lattice, accompanied by polarization-dependent optical properties. On the basis of these findings we envisage the potential applications as strain sensors and mechanically tunable filters. © 2019 American Chemical Society.
A Tunable Polymer–Metal Based Anti-Reflective Metasurface
Anti-reflective surfaces are of great interest for optical devices, sensing, photovoltaics, and photocatalysis. However, most of the anti-reflective surfaces lack in situ tunability of the extinction with respect to wavelength. This communication demonstrates a tunable anti-reflective surface based on colloidal particles comprising a metal core with an electrochromic polymer shell. Random deposition of these particles on a reflective surface results in a decrease in the reflectance of up to 99.8% at the localized surface plasmon resonance frequency. This narrow band feature can be tuned by varying the pH or by application of an electric potential, resulting in wavelength shifts of up to 30 nm. Electrophoretic particle deposition is shown to be an efficient method for controlling the interparticle distance and thereby further optimizing the overall efficiency of the anti-reflective metasurface. © 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Mechanotunable Plasmonic Properties of Colloidal Assemblies
Noble metal nanoparticles can absorb incident light very efficiently due to their ability to support localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs), collective oscillations of the free electron cloud. LSPRs lead to strong, nanoscale confinement of electromagnetic energy which facilitates applications in many fields including sensing, photonics, or catalysis. In these applications, damping of the LSPR caused by inter- and intraband transitions is a limiting factor due to the associated energy losses and line broadening. The losses and broad linewidth can be mitigated by arranging the particles into periodic lattices. Recent advances in particle synthesis, (self-)assembly, and fabrication techniques allow for the realization of collective coupling effects building on various particle sizes, geometries, and compositions. Beyond assemblies on static substrates, by assembling or printing on mechanically deformable surfaces a modulation of the lattice periodicity is possible. This enables significant alteration and tuning of the optical properties. This progress report focuses on this novel approach for tunable spectroscopic properties with a particular focus on low-cost and large-area fabrication techniques for functional plasmonic lattices. The report concludes with a discussion of the perspectives for expanding the mechanotunable colloidal concept to responsive structures and flexible devices. © 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim