Shape-Controlled Synthesis and Surface Plasmonic Properties of Metallic Nanostructures
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Shape-Controlled
Synthesis and Surface Plasmonic Properties of Metallic Nanostructures
Younan Xia and Naomi J. Halas, Guest Editors Abstract The interaction of light with free electrons in a gold or silver nanostructure can give rise to collective excitations commonly known as surface plasmons. Plasmons provide a powerful means of confining light to metal/dielectric interfaces, which in turn can generate intense local electromagnetic fields and significantly amplify the signal derived from analytical techniques that rely on light, such as Raman scattering. With plasmons, photonic signals can be manipulated on the nanoscale, enabling integration with electronics (which is now moving into the nano regime). However, to benefit from their interesting plasmonic properties, metal structures of controlled shape (and size) must be fabricated on the nanoscale. This issue of MRS Bulletin examines how gold and silver nanostructures can be prepared with controllable shapes to tailor their surface plasmon resonances and highlights some of the unique applications that result, including enhancement of electromagnetic fields, optical imaging, light transmission, colorimetric sensing, and nanoscale waveguiding. Keywords: field enhancement, gold nanoparticles, metallic nanostructures, shape-controlled synthesis, silver nanoparticles, surface plasmons.
Introduction Nanostructures—structures with at least one dimension between 1 nm and 100 nm— have attracted steadily growing interest due to fascinating properties and intriguing applications that are complementary or superior to those of bulk materials.1 Much of this interest is powered by the growing expertise in fabrication methods that allow more and more ways of realizing nanostructures with well-controlled composition, size, and shape. The development of synthetic methodologies has also advanced to a level where nanostructures can be produced from many kinds of materials with the quality, quantity, and yield required for the systematic investigation of their peculiar properties (see Figure 1). The fundamental study of phenomena 338
that occur in nanostructured materials has already evolved into a new field of research that is often referred to as nanoscience. In addition to their indispensable roles in nanoscience, nanostructures are central to the development of a broad range of emerging and exciting applications such as more powerful computer chips and higher-density information storage. It is anticipated that nanotechnology will change the way we live, just as microtechnology has done in the last century. This issue of MRS Bulletin is focused on the shape-controlled synthesis and surface plasmonic properties of nanostructures made of two metals: gold and silver. Since the pioneering work by Gustav Mie in 1908,2 it has been recognized for almost a
century that the interaction of light with free electrons in a gold or silver nanoparticle can give rise to collective oscillations commonly known as surface plasmons (SPs). Peaks appear in the extinction spectra (extinction sca
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