title: Plasmonic nanoparticle chains via a morphological, sphere-to-string transition.
abstract: Au nanoparticles encapsulated within polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid) (PS-b-PAA) micelles assemble into regular, one-dimensional arrays when they are exposed to solvent conditions that relax interfacial curvature in the micellar shell. Nanoparticle chaining was induced by adding salt, acid, or cationic carbodiimide to the suspension of purified encapsulated Au nanoparticles (Au@PS-b-PAA). The resulting assemblies were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopies, by dark-field optical microscopy, and by visible absorption spectroscopy. The length of the chains was modulated by varying the concentration of additive. More importantly, the spacing between Au nanoparticles was dictated entirely by the shell thickness of the Au@PS-b-PAA starting material. Far-field polarization microspectroscopy demonstrated directional surface plasmon coupling in a straightened nanoparticle chain, which is a basic requirement for the use of these assemblies as plasmon waveguides.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
authors.forename: Youngjong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Kris J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Erickson
authors.forename: T Andrew
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Taton
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D008823:Micelles; D015394:Molecular Structure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D008823:Micelles; D011137:Polystyrenes; C006903:carbopol 940; D006046:Gold