Coupling between molecular and plasmonic resonances in freestanding dye-gold nanorod hybrid nanostructures

Hybrid nanostructures of organic dyes and inorganic gold nanorods are constructed using the layer-by-layer assembly method via electrostatic interactions. Strong coupling is observed between the molecular resonance of dyes and the plasmonic resonance of gold nanorods when their spectra overlap strongly. The coupling strength is tuned by choosing gold nanorods with longitudinal plasmon wavelengths varying from 570 to 870 nm. The resonance coupling-induced plasmon shift is found to be strongly dependent on the dye concentration and the spacing between the dye and nanorod. Moreover, the resonance coupling can be switched off by laser illumination to decompose adsorbed dyes. We believe this is the first time that the coupling between molecular and plasmonic resonances is observed for freestanding hybrid nanostructures constructed out of dyes and colloidal gold nanorods. These results will be helpful in understanding the fundamental interactions between molecular and plasmonic resonances and useful for the design of resonance coupling-based chemical and biological sensors.