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A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanophotonics Materials and Devices".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 May 2022) | Viewed by 30390

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Prof. Dr. Ir. Sammy W. Verbruggen

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Guest Editor

University of Antwerp, Sustainable Energy
Interests: plasmonics; photocatalysis; photoelectrochemical cells; air purification; core-shell nanoparticles; self-cleaning coatings; photoreactor design; hydrogen

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plasmonic nanostructures have found their way into various fields of science, ranging from photocatalysis and photovoltaics, over (bio)sensing and spectroscopy, to medical applications. Every day researchers around the globe develop new plasmonic materials with improved functionalities for any of these application fields. This special issue aims to provide a perspective on exciting new developments of functional plasmonic nanostructures. We invite original research contributions or consice topical reviews both on the level of synthesis and characterization, as well as the various applications of new plasmonic nanomaterials. Theoretical studies highlighting the potential of dedicated plasmonic configurations are also welcomed. We are looking forward to learn about your most recent discoveries soon!

Prof. Dr. Ir. Sammy W. Verbruggen
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Synthesis and Characterization of Plasmonic Nanostructures
Core-Shell nanoparticles
Mono-, bi- and tri-metallic nanoparticles
Surface Functionalization
2D and 3D nano-assemblies
Numerical Simulations
Photocatalysis
Light Harvesting
(Bio)Sensing
Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
Photothermal effects & Photodynamic Therapy

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1699 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sunlight-Powered Reverse Water Gas Shift Reaction Catalysed by Plasmonic Au/TiO₂ Nanocatalysts: Effects of Au Particle Size on the Activity and Selectivity

by Jordi Volders, Ken Elen, Arno Raes, Rajeshreddy Ninakanti, An-Sofie Kelchtermans, Francesc Sastre, An Hardy, Pegie Cool, Sammy W. Verbruggen, Pascal Buskens and Marlies K. Van Bael

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(23), 4153; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12234153 - 23 Nov 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2443

Abstract

This study reports the low temperature and low pressure conversion (up to 160 °C, p = 3.5 bar) of CO₂ and H₂ to CO using plasmonic Au/TiO₂ nanocatalysts and mildly concentrated artificial sunlight as the sole energy source (up to 13.9 kW·m⁻² = 13.9 suns). To distinguish between photothermal and non-thermal contributors, we investigated the impact of the Au nanoparticle size and light intensity on the activity and selectivity of the catalyst. A comparative study between P25 TiO₂-supported Au nanocatalysts of a size of 6 nm and 16 nm displayed a 15 times higher activity for the smaller particles, which can only partially be attributed to the higher Au surface area. Other factors that may play a role are e.g., the electronic contact between Au and TiO₂ and the ratio between plasmonic absorption and scattering. Both catalysts displayed ≥84% selectivity for CO (side product is CH₄). Furthermore, we demonstrated that the catalytic activity of Au/TiO₂ increases exponentially with increasing light intensity, which indicated the presence of a photothermal contributor. In dark, however, both Au/TiO₂ catalysts solely produced CH₄ at the same catalyst bed temperature (160 °C). We propose that the difference in selectivity is caused by the promotion of CO desorption through charge transfer of plasmon generated charges (as a non-thermal contributor). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Plasmonic Nanostructures)

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14 pages, 4832 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceCommunication

Design, Analysis, and Optimization of a Plasmonic Slot Waveguide for Mid-Infrared Gas Sensing

by Parviz Saeidi, Bernhard Jakoby, Gerald Pühringer, Andreas Tortschanoff, Gerald Stocker, Jasmin Spettel, Florian Dubois, Thomas Grille and Reyhaneh Jannesari

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(10), 1732; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12101732 - 18 May 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1813

Abstract

In this work, we investigated the optimization of a plasmonic slot waveguide (PSWG) in the mid-IR region particularly for a representative wavelength of 4.26 µm, which is the absorption line of CO₂ and thus particularly relevant for applications. We analysed the mode features associated with metal-dielectric-metal (MDM), dielectric-metal-dielectric (DMD), and truncated metal film (TMF) structures with respect to the considered PSWG. Subsequently, the mode features of the PSWG were considered based on what we outlined for MDM, DMD, and TMF structures. Furthermore, as confinement factor and propagation length are two crucial parameters for absorption sensing applications, we optimized the PSWG based on a figure of merit (FOM) defined as the product of the aforementioned quantities. To characterize the propagation length, the imaginary part of the effective mode index of a guided mode was considered, leading to a dimensionless FOM. Finally, we investigated the PSWG also for other wavelengths and identified particularly attractive wavelengths and geometries maximizing the FOM. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Plasmonic Nanostructures)

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11 pages, 5109 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Defect-Rich Monolayer MoS₂ as a Universally Enhanced Substrate for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

by Shiyu Sun, Jingying Zheng, Ruihao Sun, Dan Wang, Guanliang Sun, Xingshuang Zhang, Hongyu Gong, Yong Li, Meng Gao, Dongwei Li, Guanchen Xu and Xiu Liang

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(6), 896; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12060896 - 8 Mar 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3401

Abstract

Monolayer 2H-MoS₂ has been widely noticed as a typical transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). However, monolayer MoS₂ is limited to a narrow range of applications due to poor detection sensitivity caused by the combination of a lower density of states (DOS) near the Fermi energy level as well as a rich fluorescence background. Here, surfaced S and Mo atomic defects are fabricated on a monolayer MoS₂ with a perfect lattice. Defects exhibit metallic properties. The presence of defects enhances the interaction between MoS₂ and the detection molecule, and it increases the probability of photoinduced charge transfer (PICT), resulting in a significant improvement of Raman enhancement. Defect-containing monolayer MoS₂ enables the fluorescence signal of many dyes to be effectively burst, making the SERS spectrum clearer and making the limits of detection (LODs) below 10⁻⁸ M. In conclusion, metallic defect-containing monolayer MoS₂ becomes a promising and versatile substrate capable of detecting a wide range of dye molecules due to its abundant DOS and effective PICT resonance. In addition, the synergistic effect of surface defects and of the MoS₂ main body presents a new perspective for plasma-free SERS based on the chemical mechanism (CM), which provides promising theoretical support for other TMDC studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Plasmonic Nanostructures)

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11 pages, 3258 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On-Chip Photon Angular Momentum Absolute Measurement Based on Angle Detection

by Houquan Liu, Zhenghao Xie, Jiankang Xu and Libo Yuan

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(5), 847; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12050847 - 2 Mar 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2013

Abstract

Photon angular momentum (AM) has been widely studied due to its unique properties. The accurate detection of photon AM is very important in its wide applications. Though various on-chip AM detectors based on surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) have been proposed, most of them can only realize relative measurement. For example, most photon orbital angular momentum (OAM) detectors measure the high order OAM via measuring the relative interval between the intensity spots of the SPPs excited by the target order OAM beam and the reference order (usually 0th order) OAM beam. In this paper, we propose a simple on-chip photon AM detector. It can realize absolute measurement of photon OAM via angle detection, whose measurement result does not depend on the measurement of any reference OAM beam. At the same time, it can also recognize photon spin angular momentum (SAM). The proposed detector provides a new way for absolute measurement of photon AM, which may have some potential applications in the field of integrated photonic device. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Plasmonic Nanostructures)

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10 pages, 2287 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Surface Charge Transfer Doping of MoS₂ Monolayer by Molecules with Aggregation-Induced Emission Effect

by Ruihao Sun, Shiyu Sun, Xiu Liang, Hongyu Gong, Xingshuang Zhang, Yong Li, Meng Gao, Dongwei Li and Guanchen Xu

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(1), 164; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12010164 - 4 Jan 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3068

Abstract

Surface charge transfer doping has attracted much attention in modulating the optical and electrical behavior of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), where finding controllable and efficient dopants is crucial. Here, 1,1,2,2-tetraphenylethylene (TPE) derivative molecules with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effect were selected as adjustable dopants. By designing nitro and methoxyl functional groups and surface coating, controlled p/n-type doping can be achieved on a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) grown monolayer, MoS₂. We investigated the electron transfer behavior between these two dopants and MoS₂ with fluorescence, Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectra and transient absorption spectra. 1,1,2,2-Tetrakis(4-nitrophenyl)ethane (TPE-4NO₂) with a negative charge aggregation can be a donor to transfer electrons to MoS₂, while 1,1,2,2-Tetrakis(4-methoxyphenyl)ethane (TPE-4OCH₃) is the opposite and electron-accepting. Density functional theory calculations further explain and confirm these experimental results. This work shows a new way to select suitable dopants for TMDCs, which is beneficial for a wide range of applications in optoelectronic devices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Plasmonic Nanostructures)

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14 pages, 3966 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel 3D Hierarchical Plasmonic Functional Cu@Co₃O₄@Ag Array as Intelligent SERS Sensing Platform with Trace Droplet Rapid Detection Ability for Pesticide Residue Detection on Fruits and Vegetables

by Guanliang Sun, Ning Li, Dan Wang, Guanchen Xu, Xingshuang Zhang, Hongyu Gong, Dongwei Li, Yong Li, Huaipeng Pang, Meng Gao and Xiu Liang

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(12), 3460; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11123460 - 20 Dec 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3632

Abstract

Rapid and effective detection of pesticide residues from complex surfaces of fruits and vegetables has important significance. Herein, we report a novel three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical porous functional surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate, which is fabricated by successive two-step hydrothermal synthesis strategy of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and cobalt oxide nanowires (Co₃O₄ NWs) on the 3D copper foam framework as Cu@Co₃O₄@Ag-H. The strategy offers a new avenue for localized plasmonic materials distribution and construction, which exhibits better morphology regulation ability and SERS activity (or hotspots engineering) than physical spurring obtained Cu@Co₃O₄@Ag-S. The developed Cu@Co₃O₄@Ag-H possesses large surface area and rich hotspots, which contributes to the excellent SERS performance, including homogeneity (RSD of 7.8%), sensitivity (enhancement factor, EF of 2.24 × 10⁸) and stability. The Cu@Co₃O₄@Ag-H not only provides plenty of Electromagnetic enhancement (EM) hotspots but also the trace detection capability for droplet rapid sensing within 2 s. Cu@Co₃O₄@Ag-H substrate is further developed as an effective SERS sensing platform for pesticide residues detection on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables with excellent LOD of 0.1 ppm, which is lower than the most similar reported works. This work offers new potential for bioassay, disease POCT diagnosis, national security, wearable flexible devices, energy storage and other related fields. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Plasmonic Nanostructures)

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17 pages, 5601 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Layer-by-Layer-Stabilized Plasmonic Gold-Silver Nanoparticles on TiO₂: Towards Stable Solar Active Photocatalysts

by Fons Dingenen, Natan Blommaerts, Myrthe Van Hal, Rituraj Borah, Daniel Arenas-Esteban, Silvia Lenaerts, Sara Bals and Sammy W. Verbruggen

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(10), 2624; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11102624 - 6 Oct 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2704

Abstract

To broaden the activity window of TiO₂, a broadband plasmonic photocatalyst has been designed and optimized. This plasmonic ‘rainbow’ photocatalyst consists of TiO₂ modified with gold–silver composite nanoparticles of various sizes and compositions, thus inducing a broadband interaction with polychromatic solar light. However, these nanoparticles are inherently unstable, especially due to the use of silver. Hence, in this study the application of the layer-by-layer technique is introduced to create a protective polymer shell around the metal cores with a very high degree of control. Various TiO₂ species (pure anatase, PC500, and P25) were loaded with different plasmonic metal loadings (0–2 wt %) in order to identify the most solar active composite materials. The prepared plasmonic photocatalysts were tested towards stearic acid degradation under simulated sunlight. From all materials tested, P25 + 2 wt % of plasmonic ‘rainbow’ nanoparticles proved to be the most promising (56% more efficient compared to pristine P25) and was also identified as the most cost-effective. Further, 2 wt % of layer-by-layer-stabilized ‘rainbow’ nanoparticles were loaded on P25. These layer-by-layer-stabilized metals showed superior stability under a heated oxidative atmosphere, as well as in a salt solution. Finally, the activity of the composite was almost completely retained after 1 month of aging, while the nonstabilized equivalent lost 34% of its initial activity. This work shows for the first time the synergetic application of a plasmonic ‘rainbow’ concept and the layer-by-layer stabilization technique, resulting in a promising solar active, and long-term stable photocatalyst. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Plasmonic Nanostructures)

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14 pages, 6055 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Au@Ag Dendritic Nanoforests for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Sensing

by Hung Ji Huang, Ming-Hua Shiao, Yang-Wei Lin, Bei-Ju Lin, James Su, Yung-Sheng Lin and Han-Wei Chang

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(7), 1736; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11071736 - 30 Jun 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2952

Abstract

The effects of Au cores in Ag shells in enhancing surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) were evaluated with samples of various Au/Ag ratios. High-density Ag shell/Au core dendritic nanoforests (Au@Ag-DNFs) on silicon (Au@Ag-DNFs/Si) were synthesized using the fluoride-assisted Galvanic replacement reaction method. The synthesized Au@Ag-DNFs/Si samples were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, reflection spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. The ultraviolet-visible extinction spectrum exhibited increased extinction induced by the addition of Ag when creating the metal DNFs layer. The pure Ag DNFs exhibited high optical extinction of visible light, but low SERS response compared with Au@Ag DNFs. The Au core (with high refractive index real part) in Au@Ag DNFs maintained a long-leaf structure that focused the illumination light, resulting in the apparent SERS enhancement of the Ag coverage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Plasmonic Nanostructures)

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10 pages, 5848 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Theoretical Study on Symmetry-Broken Plasmonic Optical Tweezers for Heterogeneous Noble-Metal-Based Nano-Bowtie Antennas

by Guangqing Du, Yu Lu, Dayantha Lankanath, Xun Hou and Feng Chen

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(3), 759; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11030759 - 17 Mar 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2819

Abstract

Plasmonic optical tweezers with a symmetry-tunable potential well were investigated based on a heterogeneous model of nano-bowtie antennas made of different noble substances. The typical noble metals Au and Ag are considered as plasmonic supporters for excitation of hybrid plasmonic modes in bowtie dimers. It is proposed that the plasmonic optical trapping force around a quantum dot exhibits symmetry-broken characteristics and becomes increasingly asymmetrical with increasing applied laser electric field. Here, it is explained by the dominant plasmon hybridization of the heterogeneous Au–Ag dimer, in which the plasmon excitations can be inconsistently modified by tuning the applied laser electric field. In the spectrum regime, the wavelength-dependent plasmonic trapping potential exhibits a two-peak structure for the heterogeneous Au–Ag bowtie dimer compared to a single-peak trapping potential of the Au–Au bowtie dimer. In addition, we comprehensively investigated the influence of structural parameter variables on the plasmonic potential well generated from the heterogeneous noble nano-bowtie antenna with respect to the bowtie edge length, edge/tip rounding, bowtie gap, and nanosphere size. This work could be helpful in improving our understanding of wavelength and laser field tunable asymmetric nano-tweezers for flexible and non-uniform nano-trapping applications of particle-sorting, plasmon coloring, SERS imaging, and quantum dot lighting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Plasmonic Nanostructures)

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Review

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20 pages, 5296 KiB

Open AccessReview

Surface-Enhanced Raman Sensing of Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds by Plasmonic Nanostructures

by Nguyễn Hoàng Ly, Sang Jun Son, Soonmin Jang, Cheolmin Lee, Jung Il Lee and Sang-Woo Joo

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(10), 2619; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11102619 - 5 Oct 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3775

Abstract

Facile detection of indoor semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) is a critical issue to raise an increasing concern to current researchers, since their emissions have impacted the health of humans, who spend much of their time indoors after the recent incessant COVID-19 pandemic outbreaks. Plasmonic nanomaterial platforms can utilize an electromagnetic field to induce significant Raman signal enhancements of vibrational spectra of pollutant molecules from localized hotspots. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing based on functional plasmonic nanostructures has currently emerged as a powerful analytical technique, which is widely adopted for the ultra-sensitive detection of SVOC molecules, including phthalates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from household chemicals in indoor environments. This concise topical review gives updated recent developments and trends in optical sensors of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and SERS for effective sensing of SVOCs by functionalization of noble metal nanostructures. Specific features of plasmonic nanomaterials utilized in sensors are evaluated comparatively, including their various sizes and shapes. Novel aptasensors-assisted SERS technology and its potential application are also introduced for selective sensing. The current challenges and perspectives on SERS-based optical sensors using plasmonic nanomaterial platforms and aptasensors are discussed for applying indoor SVOC detection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Plasmonic Nanostructures)

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