Electrochemical （EC） reactions play vital roles in many disciplines, and its molecular-level understanding is highly desired, in particular under reactions. The vibration spectroscopy is a powerful in situ technique...Electrochemical （EC） reactions play vital roles in many disciplines, and its molecular-level understanding is highly desired, in particular under reactions. The vibration spectroscopy is a powerful in situ technique for chemical analysis, yet its application to EC reactions is hindered by the strong attenuation of infrared （IR） light in both electrodes and electrolytes. Here we demonstrate that by incorporating appropriate sub-wavelength plasmonic structures at the metal electrode, the IR field at the EC interface can be greatly enhanced via the excitation of surface plasmon. This scheme facilitates in situ vibrational spectroscopic studies, especially using the surface-specific sum-frequency generation technique.展开更多
A double-prism adaptive optical design in surface plasma resonance （SPR） sensor is proposed,which consists of two identical isosceles right-triangular prisms. One prism is used as a component of Kretschmann configur...A double-prism adaptive optical design in surface plasma resonance （SPR） sensor is proposed,which consists of two identical isosceles right-triangular prisms. One prism is used as a component of Kretschmann configuration, and the other is for regulation of the optical path. When double-prism structure is angle-scanned by an immovable incident ray, the output ray will be always parallel with the incident ray and just has a small displacement with the shift of output point. The output ray can be focused on a fixed photodetector by a convex lens. Thus it can be avoided that a prism and a photodetector rotate by 8 and 28 respectively in conventional angular scanning SPR sensor. This new design reduces the number of the movable components, makes the structure simple and compact, and makes the manipulation convenient.展开更多
The wave guides and optical fibers have long been known to transmit light and electromagnetic fields in large dimensions. Recently, surface plasmons, which are collective plasma oscillations of valence electrons at me...The wave guides and optical fibers have long been known to transmit light and electromagnetic fields in large dimensions. Recently, surface plasmons, which are collective plasma oscillations of valence electrons at metal surfaces, have been introduced as an entity that is able to guide light on the surfaces of the metal and to concentrate light in subwavelength volumes. It has been found that periodic array of metallic nanospheres, could be able to enhance the light transmission, and guiding light at nanoscale. The coupling between two nanoparticles in these devices is very important. The Bloch-Jensen hydrodynamical method has been used for computing surface plasmons＇ frequencies of a single metallic nanosphere. It contains the entire pole spectrum automatically, so it is more exactly than the other computational methods. In this research, we have computed the surface plasmons＇ frequencies of two adjacent nanospheres by Bloch-Jensen hydrodynamical model for the first time. The results show that there are two modes for this system, which depend explicitly on interparticle spacing. In addition, we have shown that the excitation modes yield to a single mode of a nanoparticle as the interparticle spacing increases.展开更多
Nano-rod and bow-tie antennas that are gold nano-antennas on dielectric material and the nano-rod antenna arrays are numerically studied by the finite difference time domain method in three dimensions. The light field...Nano-rod and bow-tie antennas that are gold nano-antennas on dielectric material and the nano-rod antenna arrays are numerically studied by the finite difference time domain method in three dimensions. The light field that project on the antennas can be confined to a spot with subwavelength width （-λ/11）,and the light intensity can be enhanced to 91 times the incident light in the near-field with the bow-tie antenna. The enhancement also exists in the antenna arrays. The highest enhancement of the light intensity at the bow-tie antenna gap can reach about 28000 times,and the localized field can be coupled to a nano-particle near the antenna gap.展开更多
Since their advent in the 1980s,optical tweezers have attracted more and more attention due to their unique non-contact and non-invasion characteristics and their wide applications in physics,biology,chemistry,medical...Since their advent in the 1980s,optical tweezers have attracted more and more attention due to their unique non-contact and non-invasion characteristics and their wide applications in physics,biology,chemistry,medical science and nanoscience.In this paper,we introduce the basic principle,the history and typical applications of optical tweezers and review our recent experimental works on the development and application of optical tweezers technique.We will discuss in detail several technological issues,including high precision displacement and force measurement in single-trap and dual-trap optical tweezers,multi-trap optical tweezers with each trap independently and freely controlled by means of space light modulator,and incorporation of cylindrical vector optical beams to build diversified optical tweezers beyond the conventional Gaussian-beam optical tweezers.We will address the application of these optical tweezers techniques to study biophysical problems such as mechanical deformation of cell membrane and binding energy between plant microtubule and microtubule associated proteins.Finally we present application of the optical tweezers technique for trapping,transporting,and patterning of metallic nanoparticles,which can be harnessed to manipulate surface plasmon resonance properties of these nanoparticles.展开更多
Nanoscale noble metals can exhibit excellent photochemical and photophysical properties, due to surface plasmon resonance(SPR) from specifically collective electronic excitations on these metal surfaces. The SPR effec...Nanoscale noble metals can exhibit excellent photochemical and photophysical properties, due to surface plasmon resonance(SPR) from specifically collective electronic excitations on these metal surfaces. The SPR effect triggers many new surface processes, including radiation and radiationless relaxations. As for the radiation process, the SPR effect causes the significant focus of light and enormous enhancement of the local surface optical electric field, as observed in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy(SERS) with very high detection sensitivity(to the single-molecule level). SERS is used to identify surface species and characterize molecular structures and chemical reactions. For the radiationless process, the SPR effect can generate hot carriers, such as hot electrons and hot holes, which can induce and enhance surface chemical reactions. Here, we review our recent work and related literature on surface catalytic-coupling reactions of aromatic amines and aromatic nitro compounds on nanostructured noble metal surfaces. Such reactions are a type of novel surface plasmon-enhanced chemical reaction. They could be simultaneously characterized by SERS when the SERS signals are assigned. By combining the density functional theory(DFT) calculations and SERS experimental spectra, our results indicate the possible pathways of the surface plasmonenhanced photochemical reactions on nanostructures of noble metals. To construct a stable and sustainable system in the conversion process of the light energy to the chemical energy on nanoscale metal surfaces, it is necessary to simultaneously consider the hot electrons and the hot holes as a whole chemical reaction system.展开更多
文摘Electrochemical （EC） reactions play vital roles in many disciplines, and its molecular-level understanding is highly desired, in particular under reactions. The vibration spectroscopy is a powerful in situ technique for chemical analysis, yet its application to EC reactions is hindered by the strong attenuation of infrared （IR） light in both electrodes and electrolytes. Here we demonstrate that by incorporating appropriate sub-wavelength plasmonic structures at the metal electrode, the IR field at the EC interface can be greatly enhanced via the excitation of surface plasmon. This scheme facilitates in situ vibrational spectroscopic studies, especially using the surface-specific sum-frequency generation technique.
文摘A double-prism adaptive optical design in surface plasma resonance （SPR） sensor is proposed,which consists of two identical isosceles right-triangular prisms. One prism is used as a component of Kretschmann configuration, and the other is for regulation of the optical path. When double-prism structure is angle-scanned by an immovable incident ray, the output ray will be always parallel with the incident ray and just has a small displacement with the shift of output point. The output ray can be focused on a fixed photodetector by a convex lens. Thus it can be avoided that a prism and a photodetector rotate by 8 and 28 respectively in conventional angular scanning SPR sensor. This new design reduces the number of the movable components, makes the structure simple and compact, and makes the manipulation convenient.
文摘The wave guides and optical fibers have long been known to transmit light and electromagnetic fields in large dimensions. Recently, surface plasmons, which are collective plasma oscillations of valence electrons at metal surfaces, have been introduced as an entity that is able to guide light on the surfaces of the metal and to concentrate light in subwavelength volumes. It has been found that periodic array of metallic nanospheres, could be able to enhance the light transmission, and guiding light at nanoscale. The coupling between two nanoparticles in these devices is very important. The Bloch-Jensen hydrodynamical method has been used for computing surface plasmons＇ frequencies of a single metallic nanosphere. It contains the entire pole spectrum automatically, so it is more exactly than the other computational methods. In this research, we have computed the surface plasmons＇ frequencies of two adjacent nanospheres by Bloch-Jensen hydrodynamical model for the first time. The results show that there are two modes for this system, which depend explicitly on interparticle spacing. In addition, we have shown that the excitation modes yield to a single mode of a nanoparticle as the interparticle spacing increases.
文摘Nano-rod and bow-tie antennas that are gold nano-antennas on dielectric material and the nano-rod antenna arrays are numerically studied by the finite difference time domain method in three dimensions. The light field that project on the antennas can be confined to a spot with subwavelength width （-λ/11）,and the light intensity can be enhanced to 91 times the incident light in the near-field with the bow-tie antenna. The enhancement also exists in the antenna arrays. The highest enhancement of the light intensity at the bow-tie antenna gap can reach about 28000 times,and the localized field can be coupled to a nano-particle near the antenna gap.
文摘Since their advent in the 1980s,optical tweezers have attracted more and more attention due to their unique non-contact and non-invasion characteristics and their wide applications in physics,biology,chemistry,medical science and nanoscience.In this paper,we introduce the basic principle,the history and typical applications of optical tweezers and review our recent experimental works on the development and application of optical tweezers technique.We will discuss in detail several technological issues,including high precision displacement and force measurement in single-trap and dual-trap optical tweezers,multi-trap optical tweezers with each trap independently and freely controlled by means of space light modulator,and incorporation of cylindrical vector optical beams to build diversified optical tweezers beyond the conventional Gaussian-beam optical tweezers.We will address the application of these optical tweezers techniques to study biophysical problems such as mechanical deformation of cell membrane and binding energy between plant microtubule and microtubule associated proteins.Finally we present application of the optical tweezers technique for trapping,transporting,and patterning of metallic nanoparticles,which can be harnessed to manipulate surface plasmon resonance properties of these nanoparticles.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21321062,21373172)
文摘Nanoscale noble metals can exhibit excellent photochemical and photophysical properties, due to surface plasmon resonance(SPR) from specifically collective electronic excitations on these metal surfaces. The SPR effect triggers many new surface processes, including radiation and radiationless relaxations. As for the radiation process, the SPR effect causes the significant focus of light and enormous enhancement of the local surface optical electric field, as observed in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy(SERS) with very high detection sensitivity(to the single-molecule level). SERS is used to identify surface species and characterize molecular structures and chemical reactions. For the radiationless process, the SPR effect can generate hot carriers, such as hot electrons and hot holes, which can induce and enhance surface chemical reactions. Here, we review our recent work and related literature on surface catalytic-coupling reactions of aromatic amines and aromatic nitro compounds on nanostructured noble metal surfaces. Such reactions are a type of novel surface plasmon-enhanced chemical reaction. They could be simultaneously characterized by SERS when the SERS signals are assigned. By combining the density functional theory(DFT) calculations and SERS experimental spectra, our results indicate the possible pathways of the surface plasmonenhanced photochemical reactions on nanostructures of noble metals. To construct a stable and sustainable system in the conversion process of the light energy to the chemical energy on nanoscale metal surfaces, it is necessary to simultaneously consider the hot electrons and the hot holes as a whole chemical reaction system.
