During the 8 months of the action we were able to achieve three main objectives.
1) on one side we explored a completely different methodologies for the self-assembly of colloidally synthetized plasmonic building blocks into ordered arrays. More specifically, we adapted the concept of chemical lift-off lithography in order to covalentely link plasmonic nanoparticles to patterned elastomeric molds, ensuring that only the patterned areas were able to lift-off gold nanoparticles from a gold-nanoparticle monolayer. Using this technique we were able to demonstrate the fabrication of linear gratings, chiral patterns, and single nanoparticle manipulation.
This work was published in the peer-reviewed journal "ACS Materials Letters" (expected Q1) with the following DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialslett.0c00535. Moreover, these results have been presented in 2 different occasions:
- MCAA 2020 Annual Conference (Poster Contribution)
- Invited seminar at the Soft Matter seminar series at the University of Paris Orsay (France).
2) we explore the role of nanoparticle size on the optical properties of plasmonic arrays fabricated by templated self-assembly. We discovered that by reducing the nanoparticle diameter we are able to modulate the near-field and far-field coupling contribution. By maximizing the first (using bigger colloids) one is able to fabricate devices characterize by intense electric field regions that can be use for sensing or photothermal therapy. By maximizing the far-field coupling on the other hand, we demonstrated the fabrication of plasmonic arrays exhibiting lattice resonances with quality factors above 60, among the highest reported in the literature to date.
This work was published in the peer-reviewed journal "Advanced Optical Materials" (Q1) with the following DOI: 10.1002/adom.202100761. Moreover, these results have been presented in 3 different occasions:
- Photonics Online meetings (Poster Contribution)
- "Self-Organization at All Scales" symposium at the nanoGE Spring Meeting 2021(Poster Contribution)
- Conferencia Española de Nanofotónica – CEN2021 (Oral Contribution)
3) the fellow contributed to the exploration of high quality factor plasmonic resonance in copper structures. This contribution was published in the peer-reviewed journal "Nano Letters" (Q1) with the following DOI:10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c04667
Finally, the fellow designed an experimental setup for introducing plasmonics in high-school setups, with the objective of sparking scientific curiosity in the young minds of children and students attending the events. The work resulted in a publication in the Journal of Chemical Education (2020), DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c01150
The MC fellow set-up a synthetic platform that allowed the group to take advantage of his skills in the preparation of high quality plasmonic colloids. This enable to group to be self-sufficient in the fabrication of the building blocks, and therefore add a new level of control over the optical properties of the prepared devices. On the other hand, the fellow familiarized with all the soft-lithographic techniques that are routinely used within the group, and learnt how to properly and rationally setup an experiment on the optical bench, exploring different types of measurement such as extinction, photoluminescence, or circular dichroism.
The fellow was able to exploit the MC action towards the development of an independent research line, and is now in the process of securing funding for the creation of his own research group.
