Cathodoluminescence spectroscopy is profitably exploited to study energy transfer mechanisms in Au and Pt/black TiO2 heterostructures. While Pt nanoparticles absorb light in the UV region, Au nanoparticles absorb light by surface plasmon resonance and interband transitions, both of them occurring in the visible region. The intra-bandgap states (oxygen vacancies) of black TiO2 play a key role in...

Here we present direct optical measurements of light coupling into a waveguide by plasmonic nanoparticles [1]. We investigated the coupling efficiency into the guided modes within the waveguide by illuminating the surface of a sample, consisting of a glass slide coated with a high refractive index planar waveguide and plasmonic nanoparticles, while directly measuring the intensity of the light ...

In order to study the importance of surface phonons on the electron-phonon relaxation in plasmonic nanoparticles, the effect of size, shape, and materials have recently been studied. Gold and silver nanoparticles have shown no dependence on size and shape while copper nanoparticles have shown some size dependence. This suggests that the bulk phonons, which are sensitive to the bulk-phase struct...

In this paper, we investigate the plasmonic near-field localization and the far-field scattering properties of non-periodic arrays of Ag nanoparticles generated by prime number sequences in two spatial dimensions. In particular, we demonstrate that the engineering of plasmonic arrays with large spectral flatness and particle density is necessary to achieve a high density of electromagnetic hot ...

Plasmonic nano-apertures are commonly used for the detection of small particles such as nanoparticles and proteins by exploiting electrical and optical techniques. Plasmonic nanopores are metallic nano-apertures sitting on a thin membrane with a tiny hole. It has been shown that plasmonic nanopores with a given geometry identify internal molecules using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS...

Plasmonic nanoparticle assemblies are a materials platform in which optical modes, resonant frequencies, and near-field intensities can be specified by the number and position of nanoparticles in a cluster. A current challenge is to achieve clusters with higher yields and new types of shapes. In this Letter, we show that a broad range of plasmonic nanoshell nanoclusters can be assembled onto a ...

Great strides have been made in enhancing solar energy conversion by utilizing plasmonic nanostructures in semiconductors. However, current generation with plasmonic nanostructures is still somewhat inefficient owing to the ultrafast decay of plasmon-induced hot electrons. It is now shown that the ultrafast decay of hot electrons across Au nanoparticles can be significantly reduced by strong co...

Plasmonic core-shell nanoparticles (PCSNPs) can function as nanoantennas and improve the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). To achieve maximum enhancement, the morphology of PCSNPs needs to be optimized. Here we precisely control the morphology of Au@TiO2 PCSNPs and systematically study its influence on the plasmonic enhancement effect. The enhancement mechanism was found to vary...

One-dimensional Au nanoparticle arrays encapsulated within freestanding SiO2 nanowires are fabricated by thermal oxidation of Au-coated Si nanowires with controlled diameter and surface modulation. The nanoparticle diameter is determined by the Si nanowire diameter and Au film thickness, while the interparticle spacing is independently controlled by the Si nanowire modulation. The optical absor...

Mechanistic understanding of the endocytosis and intracellular trafficking of nanoparticles is essential for designing smart theranostic carriers. Physico-chemical properties, including size, clustering and surface chemistry of nanoparticles regulate their cellular uptake and transport. Significantly, even single nanoparticles could cluster intracellularly, yet their clustering state and subseq...