Plasmomechanical Systems: Principles and Applications

Extreme confinement of electromagnetic waves and mechanical displacement fields to nanometer dimensions through plasmonic nanostructures offers unprecedented opportunities for greatly enhanced interaction strength, increased bandwidth, lower power consumption, chip-scale fabrication, and efficient actuation of mechanical systems at the nanoscale. Conversely, coupling mechanical oscillators to plasmonic nanostructures introduces mechanical degrees of freedom to otherwise static plasmonic structures thus giving rise to the generation of extremely large resonance shifts even for minor position changes. This nanoscale marriage of plasmonics and mechanics has led to the emergence of a new field of study called plasmomechanics that explores the fundamental principles underneath the coupling between light and plasmomechanical nanoresonators. In this review, both the fundamental concepts and applications of plasmomechanics as an emerging field of study are discussed. After an overview of the basic principles of plasmomechanics, the active tuning mechanisms of plasmonic nano-mechanical systems are extensively analyzed. Moreover, the recent developments on the practical implications of plasmomechanic systems for such applications as biosensing and infrared detection are highlighted. Finally, an outlook on the implications of the plasmomechanical nanosystems for development of point-of-care diagnostic devices that can help early and rapid detection of fatal diseases are forwarded.     

Acoustic waveguide filters made up of rigid stacked materials with elastic joints

Meccanica - The acoustic dispersion properties of monodimensional waveguide filters can be assessed by means of the simple prototypical mechanical system made of an infinite stack of periodic...     

Photodegradation actuated shape-changing hydrogels

Hydrogels are attractive materials for generating 4D shapes due to their ability to undergo pronounced volume changes in response to several stimuli, including light. We previously reported shape-changing hydrogels actuated by long-wave UV and visible light in the presence of live cells using poly(ethylene glycol) macromers incorporating different photodegradable ortho-nitrobenzyl (o-NB) groups. In this comprehensive study, we determine the effect of chemical structure of different o-NB macromers (which influences molar absorptivity and rate constant of degradation), composition (macromer weight percent), fabrication design (initial gel thickness) and environment (ionic strength of solution) on light-induced hydrogel folding. We demonstrate successful photopolymerization and subsequent photodegradation of hydrogels, multistep folding, and live-cell encapsulation. This hydrogel system may be useful as new tool in stem cell differentiation and developmental biology research, facilitating the in vitro investigation of processes that are sensitive to both physical and temporal stimuli.     

Spatio-Temporal Variation of the Bacterial Communities along a Salinity Gradient within a Thalassohaline Environment (Saline di Tarquinia Salterns,Italy)

The “Saline di Tarquinia” salterns have been scarcely investigated regarding their microbiological aspects. This work studied the structure and composition of their bacterial communities along the salinity gradient (from the nearby sea through different ponds). The communities showed increasing simplification of pond bacterial diversity along the gradient (particularly if compared to those of the sea). Among the 38 assigned phyla, the most represented were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Differently to other marine salterns, where at the highest salinities Bacteroidetes dominated, preponderance of Proteobacteria was observed. At the genus level the most abundant taxa were Pontimonas, Marivita, Spiribacter, Bordetella, GpVII and Lentibacter. The α-diversity analysis showed that the communities were highly uneven, and the Canonical Correspondence Analysis indicated that they were structured by various factors (sampling site, sampling year, salinity, and sampling month). Moreover, the taxa abundance variation in relation to these significant parameters were investigated by Generalized Linear Models. This work represents the first investigation of a marine saltern, carried out by a metabarcoding approach, which permitted a broad vision of the bacterial diversity, covering both a wide temporal span (two years with monthly sampling) and the entire salinity gradient (from the nearby sea up to the crystallisation ponds).     

Lateral‐Polarity Structure of AlGaN Quantum Wells: A Promising Approach to Enhancing the Ultraviolet Luminescence

Aluminum‐gallium‐nitride alloys (Al _x Ga_{1– x} N, 0 ≤ x ≤ 1) can emit light covering the ultraviolet spectrum from 210 to 360 nm. However, these emitters have not fulfilled their full promise to replace the toxic and fragile mercury UV lamps due to their low efficiencies. This study demonstrates a promising approach to enhancing the luminescence efficiency of AlGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) via the introduction of a lateral‐polarity structure (LPS) comprising both III and N‐polar domains. The enhanced luminescence in LPS is attributed to the surface roughening, and compositional inhomogeneities in the N‐polar domain. The space‐resolved internal quantum efficiency (IQE) mapping shows a higher relative IQE in N‐polar domains and near inversion domain boundaries, providing strong evidence of enhanced radiative recombination efficiency in the LPS. These experimental observations are in good agreement with the theoretical calculations, where both lateral and vertical band diagrams are investigated. This work suggests that the introduction of the LPS in AlGaN‐based MQWs can provide unprecedented tunability in achieving higher luminescence performance in the development of solid state light sources.     

A Zn(II) luminescent complex with a Schiff base ligand: solution,computational and solid state studies

Abstract

A new mononuclear complex of zinc(II), [Zn(HL)₂]?2DMF (H₂L = (E)-N′-((E)-(hydroxyimino)butan-2-ylidene)salicyloylhydrazide, DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide), was prepared and characterized. Single-crystal X-ray crystallography revealed a six-coordinate zinc(II) surrounded by nitrogen of the oxime function and oxygen and distal nitrogens of the acylhydrazone group. This entity also exists in solution as demonstrated by ¹H-NMR and potentiometric titrations. The computational analysis showed that the molecular orbitals involved in the main electronic transitions of the complex species in solution are centered on the ligand with negligible contribution of the metal ion. The photophysical properties of the complex were evaluated in solution and in the solid state. Luminescence studies showed that the solid has a strong emission at 550 nm with a large Stokes shift with respect to absorption. The solid state fluorescence emission is ascribed to ligand-centered and/or ligand-to-ligand charge transfer transitions, following the DFT results in solution. A comparison with a previously reported mononuclear [Zn(HL)₂] allowed the investigation of the influence of DMF molecules in the structural packing and the luminescence properties.     

The conjugate base of malonaldehyde as antenna-ligand towards trivalent europium and terbium ions

Coordination compounds having formulae [M(MA)₃] _n and M(MA)(^Me2Tp)₂ (M = Y, Eu, Tb; MA = conjugate base of malonaldehyde; ^Me2Tp = tris(3,5-dimethyl-pyrazol-1-yl)borate) were synthesized and characterized. The photoluminescence features of the europium and terbium derivatives were investigated. By comparing the herein reported photoluminescence data with those relative to analogous nitro- and bromomalonaldehyde derivatives, it appears that the conjugate base of malonaldehyde is a more efficient antenna-ligand for the sensitization of Tb(III) luminescence. The experimental data were rationalized on the basis of DFT calculations. Tb(MA)(^Me2Tp)₂ was used as dopant for the preparation of luminescent plastic materials based on poly(methyl methacrylate).