Molecular active plasmonics: controlling plasmon resonances with molecular machines

The paper studies the molecular-level active control of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) of Au nanodisk arrays with molecular machines. Two types of molecular machines - azobenzene and rotaxane - have been demonstrated to enable the reversible tuning of the LSPRs via the controlled mechanical movements. Azobenzene molecules have the property of trans-cis photoisomerization and enable the photo-induced nematic (N)-isotropic (I) phase transition of the liquid crystals (LCs) that contain the molecules as dopant. The phase transition of the azobenzene-doped LCs causes the refractive-index difference of the LCs, resulting in the reversible peak shift of the LSPRs of the embedded Au nanodisks due to the sensitivity of the LSPRs to the disks' surroundings' refractive index. Au nanodisk array, coated with rotaxanes, switches its LSPRs reversibly when it is exposed to chemical oxidants and reductants alternatively. The correlation between the peak shift of the LSPRs and the chemically driven mechanical movement of rotaxanes is supported by control experiments and a time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT)-based, microscopic model.

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