Enhanced Light-Matter Interaction in Metallic Nanoparticles: A Generic Strategy of Smart Void Filling

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Material properties significantly influence light-matter interactions in metals and nanostructures.
• Plasmonic nanostructures show strong photon interaction, but other transition metals lack efficient light absorption/scattering for applications.
• This limitation hinders progress in optoelectronics, chemistry, and energy harvesting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a universal strategy for enhancing light-matter interactions in metallic nanoparticles.
• To overcome the limitations of traditional plasmonic materials and expand their use in various applications.

Main Methods:

• Introducing voids onto the surface of metallic nanoparticles.
• Investigating the optical properties of void-filled nanoparticles across nine different metals.
• Analyzing absorption cross-section, resonance peak tunability, and performance under varying conditions.

Main Results:

• The proposed strategy successfully enhances light-matter interaction in nine metals, including optically inactive ones.
• Void-filled nanoparticles exhibit superior absorption cross-sections compared to plasmonic (Ag/Au) nanoparticles.
• Tunable resonance peaks across a broad spectral range were achieved, robust to polarization, size variations, and geometric disorder.

Conclusions:

• Introducing surface voids is a universal method to significantly boost light absorption and scattering in metallic nanoparticles.
• This approach enables the use of a wider range of metals for advanced optoelectronic, chemical, and energy applications.
• The findings pave the way for novel devices in photocatalysis, bioimaging, and optical sensing.