Synthesis of well‐defined block copolymer composed of flexible amphiphilic poly(ethylene glycol) and hydrophobic liquid crystalline segments by living coordination polymerization of allene derivatives and its application to thin film with perpendicularly oriented cylindrical nanostructure

A block copolymer composed of a flexible polar poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and a less polar liquid crystalline poly(allene) segments is prepared by the living coordination polymerization of an allene derivative possessing trans‐azobenzene‐containing mesogenic substituent by the use of a π‐allylnickel macroinitiator bearing PEG segment. The thin film of the block copolymer is prepared by the spin coating of its solution onto mica or silicon wafer which proves to possess perpendicularly oriented nanocylindrical microphase separated structures as supported by the differential calorimetric, polarized optical microscopic, grazing‐incidence small‐angle X‐ray scattering, transmission electron microscope, and atomic force microscope measurements.     

Surface plasmon tunneling through a touching gold nanocylinder array on a thin gold film

The optical property of a structure composed of a touching gold nanocylinder array on a thin gold film is investigated using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. It is discovered that the transmission behavior can be tuned by tuning the geometry of the structure. As the film thickness increases, the transmission mode associated with the localized surface plasmon resonance blue shifts accompanied with a decrease of magnitude and full width at half maximum, and a second transmission appear due to the interaction of the plasmons on the cylinder with their images induced on the film. The localized waveguide resonance diminishes but the second resonance peak is intensified and broadened noticeably with the separation of the cylinder array and film increase. The cylinder radius size influences the localized surface plasmon resonance mode obviously. These results may be helpful for the design of a novel optical device.     

Evanescent Plane Waves in Multilayer Structures

We have considered evanescent plane waves in structures with a layer of a substance with ε, μ < 0 and with a layer of a well-reflecting metal, ε < 0, μ ≥ 1. Waves with increased amplitude as compared with the initial wave have been found to occur, due to which evanescent waves with wave number as in the initial wave but with increased amplitude arise behind these layers. A composite material with ε, μ < 0 at optical frequencies are proposed. Surface waves on a metal layer are considered in detail. It is shown that surface waves with a sufficiently arbitrary wave number can be excited. It is also shown that, on very thin layers, surface waves with wave number exceeding ten times that of a homogeneous plane wave in vacuum can be excited. Propagation losses are calculated. For a silver layer, the wave path can be from 30 up to 100 wavelengths. Practical use in developing techniques for optical transformations of short-wave surface waves in 2D space, similar to those in 3D space, are pointed out.     

Nanoparticles and Giant Raman Scattering

The field for linear aggregates of metallic nanospheres is calculated. This field is analogous to that of the surface TM₀ wave of a metallic cylinder with a negative dielectric permittivity. The spontaneous emission of an atom into a surface wave is shown to be greatly enhanced. This enhancement is as great as 10¹⁴ times for a two-photon process (Raman scattering). The TM₀ wave is concentrated in the vicinity of the nanocylinder surface instead of extending in space to infinity. Being restricted in its length, the nanocylinder radiates efficiently into free space in contrast to the case of an infinite (plane or cylindrical) surface. The duration of the atomic dipole radiation is about 1 fs under the conditions discussed. The situation considered can be realized readily in actual experiments. It can explain the pronounced increase in the Raman intensity in the experiments described by Nie and Emory in 1997.     

Genipin‐crosslinked gelatin hydrogel incorporated with PLLA‐nanocylinders as a bone scaffold: Synthesis,characterization, and mechanical properties evaluation

Nowadays, despite remarkable progress in developing bone tissue engineering products, the fabrication of an ideal scaffold that could meet the main criteria, such as providing mechanical properties and suitable biostability as well as mimicking the bone extracellular matrix, still seems challenging. In this regard, utilizing combinatorial approaches seems more beneficial. Here, we aim to reinforce the mechanical characteristics of gelatin hydrogel via a combination of Genipin‐based chemical cross‐linking and incorporation of the poly l ‐lactic acid (PLLA) nanocylinders for application as bone scaffolds. Amine‐functionalized nanocylinders are prepared via the aminolysis procedure and incorporated in gelatin hydrogel. The nanocylinder content (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 wt%) and cross‐linking density (0.1, 0.5, and 1 wt/vol%) are optimized to achieve suitable morphology, swelling ratio, degradation rate, and mechanical behaviors. The results indicate that hydrogel scaffold cross‐linking by 0.5 wt% of Genipin shows optimized morphological feathers with a pore size of around 300 to 500 μm as well as an average degradation rate (40.09% ± 3.08%) during 32 days. Besides, the incorporation of 3 wt% PLLA nanocylinders into the cross‐linked gelatin scaffold provides an optimized mechanical reinforcement as compressive modulus, and compressive strength show a 4‐ and 2.6‐fold increase, respectively. 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay indicates that the scaffold does not have any cytotoxicity effect. In conclusion, gelatin composite reinforced with 3 wt% PLLA nanocylinders cross‐linked via 0.5 wt/vol% Genipin is suggested as a potential scaffold for bone tissue engineering applications.     

Near-field properties of a shell nanocylinder pair with gain materials

We study the near-field response of a shell nanocylinder pair,with its core filled by gain materials,using a twodimensional finite-difference time-domain method.It is shown that the gain materials in the core of the cylinder can compensate for the intrinsic absorption of the metal shell,leading to local-field enhancement in the gap of the active pair.A linear dependence is found between the field enhancement and the gain coefficient at resonance.The detailed physics is studied by calculating the electrical-field distribution of the shell pair filled with different gain materials.The influence of the gap width and the shell thickness on the interaction of two adjacent active shell cylinders is also investigated.