Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2026

A Technique to Functionalize and Self-assemble Macroscopic Nanoparticle-ligand Monolayer Films onto Template-free Substrates
Published on: May 9, 2014
Plasmonic Polymorphs by Combining Shape Anisotropy and Soft Interactions in Bipyramid Thin Films
Jules Marcone1, Sabrina Juergensen2, Juan Barrios-Capuchino3
1Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Orsay, 91405, France.
Abstract:
Thin-film plasmonic supercrystals of pentagonal gold nanobipyramids (AuBP) exhibit a diverse range of packing structures that influence the near-field distribution of the enhanced electric field and the far-field response. By varying the molecular weight of the coating ligands, the softness of the anisotropic building blocks is changed. A thorough structural characterization reveals that this affects the resulting superstructures from self-assembly more intricately than with isotropic building blocks. Softer coatings lead to smaller aligned domains in monolayers, while bilayers exhibit more crystalline domains with dominant interlayer twist angles near 0° and 90°. The far-field distribution and near-field response are measured using micro-absorbance and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Correlating these data with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) structural analysis enabled the identification of the longitudinal and transverse individual and collective plasmonic modes. Notably, for large crystalline bilayer domains, a strong polarization-dependent optical response is observed. These features underline the potential of these superstructures for applications in surface-enhanced spectroscopies, plasmonic photocatalysis, and advanced optical manipulation in switchable optical metamaterials.
Related Concept Videos
Molecular Shapes
Fluid Mosaic Model
Molecular Models
Intermolecular Forces
Metallic Solids
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability. Many...
Valence Bond Theory

