Xiang-Tian Kong

Mid-infrared Plasmonic Circular Dichroism Generated by Graphene Nanodisk Assemblies

It is very interesting to bring plasmonic circular dichroism spectroscopy to the mid-infrared spectral interval, and there are two reasons for this. This spectral interval is very important for thermal bioimaging, and simultaneously, this spectral range includes vibrational lines of many chiral biomolecules. Here we demonstrate that graphene plasmons indeed offer such opportunity. In particular, we show that chiral graphene assemblies consisting of a few graphene nanodisks can generate strong circular dichroism (CD) in the mid-infrared interval. The CD signal is generated due to the plasmon-plasmon coupling between adjacent nanodisks in the specially designed chiral graphene assemblies. Because of the large dimension mismatch between the thickness of a graphene layer and the incoming lights wavelength, three-dimensional configurations with a total height of a few hundred nanometers are necessary to obtain a strong CD signal in the mid-infrared range. The mid-infrared CD strength is mainly governed by the total dimensions (total height and helix scaffold radius) of the graphene nanodisk assembly and by the plasmon-plasmon interaction strength between its constitutive nanodisks. Both positive and negative CD bands can be observed in the graphene assembly array. The frequency interval of the plasmonic CD spectra overlaps with the vibrational modes of some important biomolecules, such as DNA and many different peptides, giving rise to the possibility of enhancing the vibrational optical activity of these molecular species by attaching them to the graphene assemblies. Simultaneously the spectral range of chiral mid-infrared plasmons in our structures appears near the typical wavelength of the human-body thermal radiation, and therefore, our chiral metastructures can be potentially utilized as optical components in thermal imaging devices.

Optoelectronic Properties in Near-Infrared Colloidal Heterostructured Pyramidal “Giant” Core/Shell Quantum Dots

Abstract Colloidal heterostructured quantum dots (QDs) are promising candidates for next‐generation optoelectronic devices. In particular, “giant” core/shell QDs (g‐QDs) can be engineered to exhibit outstanding optical properties and high chemical/photostability for the fabrication of high‐performance optoelectronic devices. Here, the synthesis of heterostructured CuInSexS2− x (CISeS)/CdSeS/CdS g‐QDs with pyramidal shape by using a facile two‐step method is reported. The CdSeS/CdS shell is demonstrated to have a pure zinc blend phase other than typical wurtzite phase. The as‐obtained heterostructured g‐QDs exhibit near‐infrared photoluminescence (PL) emission (≈830 nm) and very long PL lifetime (in the microsecond range). The pyramidal g‐QDs exhibit a quasi‐type II band structure with spatial separation of electron–hole wave function, suggesting an efficient exciton extraction and transport, which is consistent with theoretical calculations. These heterostructured g‐QDs are used as light harvesters to fabricate a photoelectrochemical cell, exhibiting a saturated photocurrent density as high as ≈5.5 mA cm−2 and good stability under 1 sun illumination (AM 1.5 G, 100 mW cm−2). These results are an important step toward using heterostructured pyramidal g‐QDs for prospective applications in solar technologies.

Photothermal Circular Dichroism Induced by Plasmon Resonances in Chiral Metamaterial Absorbers and Bolometers

Chiral photochemistry remains a challenge because of the very small asymmetry in the chiro-optical absorption of molecular species. However, we think that the rapidly developing fields of plasmonic chirality and plasmon-induced circular dichroism demonstrate very strong chiro-optical effects and have the potential to facilitate the development of chiral photochemistry and other related applications such as chiral separation and sensing. In this study, we propose a new type of chiral spectroscopy-photothermal circular dichroism. It is already known that the planar plasmonic superabsorbers can be designed to exhibit giant circular dichroism signals in the reflection. Therefore, upon illumination with chiral light, such planar metastructures should be able to generate a prominent asymmetry in their local temperatures. Indeed, we demonstrate this chiral photothermal effect using a chiral plasmonic absorber. Calculated temperature maps show very strong photothermal circular dichroism. One of the structures computed in this Letter could serve as a chiral bolometer sensitive to circularly polarized light. Overall, this chiro-optical effect in plasmonic metamaterials is much greater than the equivalent effect in any chiral molecular system or plasmonic bioassembly. Potential applications of this effect are in polarization-sensitive surface photochemistry and chiral bolometers.

Traveling Hot Spots in Plasmonic Photocatalysis: Manipulating Interparticle Spacing for Real‐Time Control of Electron Injection

Herein, we introduce a novel approach to achieve real‐time control over the hot‐electron injection process in metal–semiconductor photocatalysts. Such functionality is attained through the design of a hybrid nanocomposite in which plasmonic Au nanorods and TiO2 nanoparticles are synergistically integrated with a thermoresponsive polymer. In this manner, modifying the temperature of the system allows 1) precise regulation of the interparticle distance between the catalyst and the plasmonic component and 2) the reversible formation of plasmonic hot spots on the semiconductor. Both features can be simultaneously exploited to modulate the injection of hot electrons, thus boosting/inhibiting at will the photocatalytic activity of these heterostructures. This innovative conception enables dynamically adjustable performance of semiconductors, hence opening the door to the development of a new generation of plasmon‐operated photocatalytic devices.

Plasmonic Chirality and Circular Dichroism in Bioassembled and Nonbiological Systems: Theoretical Background and Recent Progress

Nature is chiral, thus chirality is a key concept required to understand a multitude of systems in physics, chemistry, and biology. The field of optics offers valuable tools to probe the chirality of nanosystems, including the measurement of circular dichroism, the differential interaction strength between matter and circularly polarized light with opposite helicity. Simultaneously, the use of plasmonic systems with giant light-interaction cross-sections opens new paths to investigate and manipulate systems on the nanoscale. Consequently, the interest in chiral plasmonic and hybrid systems has continually grown in recent years, due to their potential applications in biosensing, polarization-encoded optical communication, polarization-selective chemical reactions, and materials with polarization-dependent light-matter interaction. Experimentally, chiral properties of nanostructures can be either created artificially using modern fabrication techniques involving inorganic materials, or borrowed from nature using bioassembly or biomolecular templating. Herein, the recent progress in the field of plasmonic chirality is summarized, with a focus on both the theoretical background and the experimental advances in the study of chirality in various systems, including molecular-plasmonic assemblies, chiral plasmonic nanostructures, chiral assemblies of interacting plasmonic nanoparticles, and chiral metal metasurfaces and metamaterials. The growth prospects of this field are also discussed.

Tunable Nonthermal Distribution of Hot Electrons in a Semiconductor Injected from a Plasmonic Gold Nanostructure

For semiconductors photosensitized with organic dyes or quantum dots, transferred electrons are usually considered thermalized at the conduction band edge. This study suggests that the electrons injected from a plasmonic metal into a thin semiconductor shell can be nonthermal with energy up to the plasmon frequency. In other words, the electrons injected into the semiconductor are still hot carriers. Photomodulated X-ray absorption measurements of the Ti L2,3 edge are compared before and after excitation of the plasmon in Au@TiO2 core-shell nanoparticles. Comparison with theoretical predictions of the X-ray absorption, which include the heating and state-filling effects from injected hot carriers, suggests that the electrons transferred from the plasmon remain nonthermal in the ∼10 nm TiO2 shell, due in part to a slow trapping in defect states. By repeating the measurements for spherical, rod-like, and star-like metal nanoparticles, the magnitude of the nonthermal distribution, peak energy, and number of injected hot electrons are confirmed to be tuned by the plasmon frequency and the sharp corners of the plasmonic nanostructure. The results suggest that plasmonic photosensitizers can not only extend the sunlight absorption spectral range of semiconductor-based devices but could also result in increased open circuit voltages and elevated thermodynamic driving forces for solar fuel generation in photoelectrochemical cells.

Publisher Correction: Enhanced generation and anisotropic Coulomb scattering of hot electrons in an ultra-broadband plasmonic nanopatch metasurface

The originally published version of this Article contained an error in Equation 1. The two ℏ terms were missing from this equation. This has now been corrected in the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.