Sergey Semin

Bioinspired peptide nanotubes: deposition technology, basic physics and nanotechnology applications†

Synthetic peptide monomers can self‐assemble into PNM such as nanotubes, nanospheres, hydrogels, etc. which represent a novel class of nanomaterials. Molecular recognition processes lead to the formation of supramolecular PNM ensembles containing crystalline building blocks. Such low‐dimensional highly ordered regions create a new physical situation and provide unique physical properties based on electron‐hole QC phenomena. In the case of asymmetrical crystalline structure, basic physical phenomena such as linear electro‐optic, piezoelectric, and nonlinear optical effects, described by tensors of the odd rank, should be explored. Some of the PNM crystalline structures permit the existence of spontaneous electrical polarization and observation of ferroelectricity. The PNM crystalline arrangement creates highly porous nanotubes when various residues are packed into structural network with specific wettability and electrochemical properties.

Self‐Assembled Organic Microfibers for Nonlinear Optics

While highly desired in integrated optical circuits, multiresponsive and tunable nonlinear optical (NLO) active 1D (sub)wavelength scale superstructures from organic materials are rarely reported due to the strong tendency of organic molecules to self-assembly in centrosymmetric modes. Here a solution-processed assembly approach is reported to generate non-centrosymmetric single-crystalline organic microfibers with a cumulative dipole moment for anisotropic combined second- and third-order NLO.

Strong Thermo-Induced Single And Two-Photon Green Luminescence In Self-Organized Peptide Microtubes

Diphenylalanine peptide nano- and microtubes formed by self-assembly demonstrate strongly enhanced and tunable single-photon and two-photon luminescence in the visible range, which appears after heat- or laser treatment of these self-organized peptide microtubes. This process significantly extends the functionality of these microstructures and can trigger a new interest in the optical properties of structures based on short peptides.

Ferroelectric Properties and Phase Transition in Dipeptide Nanotubes

Small aromatic dipeptides can self-assemble into supramolecular bioinspired peptide nanotubes. Nanoscale dimensions of their nanocrystalline building blocks and their space symmetry is the origin for exceptional physical properties of these nanotubular structures, such as quantum confinement and ferroelectric-related phenomena (piezoelectricity, second harmonic generation and spontaneous polarization). In this work we study basic intrinsic physical properties in diphenylalanine-based peptide nanostructures, and follow their variation during the phase transition process.

Edge effects in second-harmonic generation in nanoscale layers of transition-metal dichalcogenides

The results of studying the optical properties of nanoscale single crystals of MoS2:Cl2 and WS2:Br2 semiconductor compounds are presented. In microscopic images obtained at the wavelength of the second (400 nm), edge effects are detected, which consist in enhancement or reduction in the second-harmonic signal intensity. Unlike previously proposed interference mechanisms of edge effects, non-interference mechanisms are considered. The occurrence of edge effects is associated with either an increased Cl2 and Br2 halogen molecule concentration or with an electrically induced second harmonic caused by band bending at the edges of individual crystal layers.

Chiral Lead Halide Perovskite Nanowires for Second-Order Nonlinear Optics

Hybrid organic/inorganic lead halide perovskites (LHPs) have recently emerged as extremely promising photonic materials. However, the exploration of their optical nonlinearities has been mainly focused on the third- and higher-order nonlinear optical (NLO) effects. Strong second-order NLO responses are hardly expected from ordinary LHPs due to their intrinsic centrosymmetric structures, but are highly desirable for advancing their applications in the next generation integrated photonic circuits. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of a novel noncentrosymmetric LHP material by introducing chiral amines as the organic component. The nanowires grown from this new LHP material crystallize in a noncentrosymmetric P1 space group and demonstrate highly efficient second harmonic generation (SHG) with high polarization ratios and chiroptical NLO effects. Such a chiral perovskite skeleton could provide a new platform for future engineering of optoelectronic functionalities of hybrid perovskite materials.

Mapping of two-photon luminescence amplification in zinc-oxide microstructures

The mapping of two-photon excited luminescence in aggregations of free-standing zinc oxide microrods has been carried out at room temperature. Two-photon luminescence spectra in the excitonic region for individual microrods have been recorded. The luminescence intensity exhibits a power-law dependence on the optical pump power with the exponent n > 2. This fact, along with the existence of a threshold power above which the dependence in the exciton region deviates from a quadratic one, indicates the onset of light amplification in individual ZnO microrods and the conditions preceding laser oscillation.