Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
Nano Lett. 2010 Apr 14;10(4):1347-53. doi: 10.1021/nl9042104.
We demonstrate the bulk self-alignment of dispersed gold nanorods imposed by the intrinsic cylindrical micelle self-assembly in nematic and hexagonal liquid crystalline phases of anisotropic fluids. External magnetic field and shearing allow for alignment and realignment of the liquid crystal matrix with the ensuing long-range orientational order of well-dispersed plasmonic nanorods. This results in a switchable polarization-sensitive plasmon resonance exhibiting stark differences from that of the same nanorods in isotropic fluids. The device-scale bulk nanoparticle alignment may enable optical metamaterial mass production and control of properties arising from combining the switchable nanoscale structure of anisotropic fluids with the surface plasmon resonance properties of the plasmonic nanorods.
我们展示了在各向异性流体的向列相和六方相液晶相中，由内在的圆柱形胶束自组装引起的分散金纳米棒的体相自对准。外加磁场和剪切力允许液晶基体的取向和再取向，从而导致分散的等离子体纳米棒具有长程取向有序。这导致了可切换的偏振敏感等离子体共振，与各向同性流体中相同纳米棒的等离子体共振明显不同。器件级别的体相纳米颗粒的取向可能使光学超材料的大规模生产和控制成为可能，这是通过结合各向异性流体的可切换纳米结构和等离子体纳米棒的表面等离子体共振特性来实现的。
