Tunable electrochemical switch of the optical properties of metallic nanoparticles.

Control of the optical properties of oblate metallic nanoparticles (NP) is realized using an electrochemical switch consisting of a thin layer of conducting polymer (CP). Reversible modulation, moderate damping, and almost total quenching of the localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance is achieved as a function of the thickness of the CP layer and the potential applied to the electrochemical systems, that is, the charge carrier density injected into the CP layer. These experimental results can be qualitatively reproduced using the single-particle model in the electrostatic approximation. We believe that combining an electroactive conducting polymer and NP will prove to be a general strategy for controlling the properties of various types of NP (fluorescent, magnetic, semiconducting) in many fields.