Effect of defects of plasmon resonance colloidal crystals on their extinction spectra

The effect of the temperature of a silver sol on its extinction spectra during formation of aggregates of plasmon resonance nanoparticles with varying degree of order and the effect exerted on these spectra by changes in the structure of a colloidal crystal during its heating, which lowers elastic properties of a polymer adsorption layer of particles are studied.     

Evolution of extinction spectra of plasmon resonance nanocolloids in the process of their crystallization

Changes in extinction spectra of nanostructured colloids of plasmon resonance particles are studied at different stages of their crystallization. The spontaneous crystallization is calculated by the method of Brownian dynamics, and the extinction spectra are calculated by the method of coupled dipoles. Based on the example of silver sols, we analyzed how separate parameters of the crystallizing disperse system affect the shape of the extinction contour in the plasmon absorption band.     

Structure transitions of polymer-mediated colloidal crystals

The self-assembled colloidal crystals with structure transitions were realized experimentally on substrates with polymer brushes. Such polymer-mediated colloidal crystals were found to experience a series of in-layer structure transitions including stable columnar, polycrystalline, mixed square-hexagonal, square, hexagonal structures when the mass ratio of colloidal particles to free polymers was adjusted from 0.125 to 10. Among these structures, a large area interfacial square structure was proved to be a body-centered tetragonal (BCT) structure in three dimensions in the polymer-mediated colloidal crystals.     

基于表面等离子体共振传感器的金胶体表征

设计了表面等离子体共振(SPR)传感器实验装置,制备了金膜和金纳米胶体溶液,测量了不同厚度金膜和不同浓度金胶体溶液的SPR角谱,得到了不同浓度金胶体溶液的折射率.     

Selective suppression of extinction within the plasmon resonance of gold nanoparticles

We present extinction measurements on rectangular two-dimensional arrays of gold nanoparticles on a dielectric waveguide. The spectra exhibit spectrally narrow bands of suppressed extinction within the particle–plasmon resonance, resulting from destructive interference between the incident light field and the excited waveguide modes. The dependence of the spectral position of these high-transmission bands on different waveguide modes is investigated in detail. Received: 3 July 2001 / Published online: 10 October 2001     

Optical spectra and electronic transitions in gallium phosphide crystals

Analysis of the long-wave edge of the self-absorption spectrum of gallium phosphide crystals not distorted by line structure at low temperatures enabled us to determine the characteristic parameters of indirect transitions. In GaP crystals of a different type the appearance of a discrete structure in the long-wave absorption edge is related to the localization of excitons near impurities of an unknown nature. This is confirmed by the appearance in these crystals of an intense green electroluminescence band at low temperatures.The authors are grateful to I. Ryzhikov, A. Kruchinin, and Yu. Il'in for providing the crystals used in the experiments.     

Diagnostics of plasmon resonance in optical absorption spectra of nanographite aqueous suspensions

A characteristic feature near ～255 nm has been revealed in the optical absorption spectra of nano-graphite aqueous suspensions. This is a broad absorption peak, which is due to the surface plasmon resonance in nanographite particles. The peak shape and intensity depend on the structural quality and aggregate state of onion-like nanographite particles in suspension.     

Piezoelectric resonance study of structural phase transitions in BaMnF4

Structural transitions of BaMnF₄ are studied by piezoelectric resonance. The results show that large structural modulations occur from 220 K to 250 K. It is found from the temperature-dependence of the resonance curves that successive phase transitions appear at about 226 K, 234 K and 244 K. The inconsistency of the transition temperature from a A2₁ am to an incommensurate phase is interpreted as intrinsic structural instability, but not by defects or impurities in the crystal of BaMnF₄ used.     

Dynamics of colloidal crystals

We study the lattice dynamics of colloidal crystals on the assumption that the potential interactions are limited to nearest neighbors and next nearest neighbors and that the long range hydrodynamic interactions may be treated in point approximation. We show that this does not lead to satisfactory agreement with existing experimental data.     

Effects of polymorphic transitions on the vibrational spectra of cyclopentane and cyclohexane crystals

The Raman spectra of these compounds in their various crystalline modifications have been examined and compared with those for the amorphous state. Temperature and phase state have marked effects on the frequencies and intensity distribution for some lines. The symmetry of the intermolecular forces can affect the vibrational spectra of naphthenes.     

Self-assembled silver nanoparticles: correlation between structural and surface plasmon resonance properties

We report a facile method for controllable fabrication of high-density silver nanoparticle films with a widely adjustable surface plasmon resonance (SPR) frequency, based on the gas phase cluster beam deposition. On the one hand, we can control the particle size by depositing clusters on silica substrate. Light extinction spectra of the self-assembled Ag nanoparticles with various particle sizes are characterized and show two SPRs, in which a SPR exhibits a redshift from less 400 nm to more than 570 nm with an increase in the particle size, whereas the other shows a slight position shifting. On the other hand, the inter-particle distance of the self-assembled Ag nanoparticles can also be controlled by depositing clusters on silica glass coated with Formvar film, and the SPR wavelength shows a redshift from <400 nm to more than 560 nm, which can be attributed to the increase of the fraction of closely spaced nanoparticle pairs that are near-field coupled with the deposition mass. The size and coverage-dependent SPR properties are also compared with the results from the discrete dipole approximation calculations. The present method of tailoring metallic microstructures could find important applications in plasmonics.     

Orientational transitions in ferromagnetic liquid crystals with bistable coupling between colloidal particles and the matrix

We study the orientational response of a ferromagnetic liquid crystal that is induced by magnetic and electric fields. A modified form of the energy of the orientational interaction between magnetic impurity particles and the liquid crystal matrix that leads to bistable coupling is considered. It is shown that apart from magnetic impurity segregation, first-order orientational transitions can be due to the bistability of the potential of the orientational coupling between the director and the magnetization. The ranges of material parameters that lead to optical bistability are determined. The possibility of first-order orientational transitions is analyzed for the optical phase difference between the ordinary and extraordinary light rays transmitted through a ferronematic cell. It is shown that an electric field applied in the given geometry considerably enhances the magneto-orientational response of the ferronematic.     

Spectral manifestation of surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles upon interaction with water-soluble metalloporphyrins

Absorption and resonant light-scattering spectra of nanoparticles (NPs) of silver, and their complexes with water-soluble Cu(II)-5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridinium)-porphyrin (CuTMpyP4) and Fe(II)-5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)-porphyrin (FeTSPP) have been compared. It is shown that in the presence of cationic CuTMpyP4, the band of surface plasmon resonance in the absorption and resonant scattering spectra of silver NPs is shifted to the long-wavelength region that is associated with the agglomeration of the particles caused by the Coulomb attraction between the silver particles and the porphyrin molecules. Addition of anionic FeTSPP to the silver NP solution does not lead to any spectral changes. The observed effect of silver-NP association induced by the cationic porphyrin can be used to develop an optical method for the detection of nanoparticles in solutions.     

Understanding plasmon resonances of metal-coated colloidal crystal monolayers

Metal films deposited over two-dimensional colloidal crystals (MFoCC) constitute a low-cost periodic structure with interesting photonic and plasmonic properties. It has previously been shown that this structure exhibits a behaviour similar to the well-known Extraordinary Optical Transmission (EOT) of metallic hole arrays in planar films. Here, we explore the transmission characteristics of AgFoCC by systematic comparison with that of the bare CC. Furthermore with additional reflectivity measurements we evaluate the AgFoCC overall plasmonic response, which, notably, exhibits a strong plasmon absorption band at wavelengths larger than those of the transmitted maximum. By corroborating these results with finite-difference time-domain electromagnetic simulations, we identify a hybrid metal-dielectric propagative mode in the transmission mechanism. On the contrary a strongly localized mode is responsible for the maximum light absorption by this structure. These results shed new light on the current understanding of this highly promising plasmonic structure, being useful for the design of surface-enhanced Raman scattering and enhanced fluorescence substrates.     

Orbital magnetism and the structural phase transitions in crystals with Jahn-Teller ions

The possibility of orbital magnetism and structural phase transitions in crystals with “orbital exchange” and vibronically coupled Jahn-Teller ions are examined.