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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 1,765 records · Page 98
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Ultrastable Gold Nanostars via Bottlebrush-like Block Copolymers

Gold (Au) nanostars are plasmonic nanostructures possessing potentials for small molecule detection, photocatalytic activities, and photothermal therapy. However, Au nanostars synthesized in the traditional way are often plagued by poor photo, thermal, and chemical stabilities. Here, we report an unconventional route to the synthesis of ultrastable colloidal Au nanostars enabled by bottlebrush-like block copolymers (BBCPs), dispensing with the need for Au seeds. Crafting of Au nanostars using BBCPs is rendered by bridging the latter with Au 3+ ions as cross-linkers that have multiple coordination sites. Notably, the presence of a covalently tethered polymer shell on the surface of Au nanostars (i.e., polymer-ligated Au nanostars) imparts remarkably high stability under high temperature and laser excitation over conventional cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-mediated Au nanostars. Due to enhanced laser stability, plasmonic fields near Au nanostars can be visualized under high laser fluence by ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM) without morphological degradation. Notably, the presence of insulating polystyrene chains does not compromise the plasmonic field distribution, with the highest field intensity observed along the star arms. In conclusion, the greatly improved long-term photo, thermal, and chemical stabilities make Au nanostars a prospective noble metal nanomaterial for a range of sensing applications.

Cellulose↗
DOE OSTI2019

Design and analysis of graphene–MoS{sub 2} hybrid layer based SPR biosensor with TiO{sub 2}–SiO{sub 2} nano film for formalin detection: numerical approach

In this paper, a Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) biosensor has been numerically developed that used Graphene–MoS{sub 2}–Au–TiO{sub 2}–SiO{sub 2} hybrid structure for the detection of formalin. This developed sensor has been sensed the presence the formalin based on attenuated total reflection (ATR) method by observing the change of “surface plasmon resonance angle-the change of minimum reflectance attributor” and “the resonance frequency characteristics (RFC)-maximum transmittance attributor”. Chitosan has been used as probe sensing medium to accelerate particular reaction with the formalin. Here, graphene is used as biomolecular recognition element because of its high adsorption ability and optical characteristics which helps to improve sensor sensitivity, MoS{sub 2} used for it has larger band gap, high fluroscence quenching ability, higher optical absorption efficiency, TiO{sub 2}–SiO{sub 2} bilayer as the improvement of sensitivity and Gold (Au) as the sharp SPR curve. Numerical results give the impression that the variation of RFC and SPR angle for improper sensing of formalin is quiet negligible that confirms no formalin is detected whereas for proper sensing these change are considerably countable that confirms the detection of formalin. From the sensor sensitivity analysis, owing to add TiO{sub 2}–SiO{sub 2} bilayer with Graphene–MoS{sub 2} Hybrid layer, maximum sensitivity of 85.375% has been numerically resulted. This high sensor performance is for taking advantages of Graphene surface high selectively which detect bio molecular compounds through pi-stacking force, larger work function (5.1 eV) of MoS{sub 2} which allows the high sensitive detection of bio targets and Rich plasmon happens at the TiO{sub 2}–SiO{sub 2} interface.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

In-situ photo-reduction of silver particles and their SPR effect in enhancing the photocatalytic water splitting of Ag{sub 2}O/TiO{sub 2} photocatalysts under solar light irradiation: A case study

Highlights: • Visible light induced SPR bands confirmed the Plasmonic resonance behaviour of Ag. • Appreciable band gap reduction of TiO{sub 2} due to in-situ photoreduction of Ag{sub 2}O to Ag. • H{sub 2}-TPR emphasized the strong interaction between Ag and TiO{sub 2}. • Ag/TiO{sub 2} witnessed 76.6 folds improved H{sub 2} production rate than P25-TiO{sub 2}. - Abstract: Plasmonic Ag{sub 2}O/TiO{sub 2} photocatalysts were synthesized by impregnating silver oxide nano clusters over the surface of TiO{sub 2}. It is found that the in-situ photo reduced silver particles showed visible light absorption in a wide range of wavelength 400–800 nm due to localized surface plasmon resonance. The in-situ formed metallic silver transfer electrons to the TiO{sub 2} through SPR excitation and thus improving photocatalytic hydrogen production. The SPR behavior of silver particles on TiO{sub 2} was characterized by UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the metallic silver. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy confirm the crystallinity of the prepared samples. H{sub 2}-temperature-programmed reduction, photoluminescence, electron paramagnetic resonance, infrared spectroscopy, BET-surface area and Raman spectra were used to understand the morphological and chemical nature of the catalysts. Among the samples, 1 wt% Ag/TiO{sub 2} showed the best activity ca. ∼23 mmol g{sup −1} in presence of glycerol scavenger.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

A facile route towards large area self-assembled nanoscale silver film morphologies and their applications towards metal enhanced fluorescence

Here, we present a facile method for fabricating nanostructured silver films containing a high density of nanoscopic gap features through a surface directed phenomenon utilizing nanoporous scaffolds rather than through traditional lithographic patterning processes. This method enables tunability of the silver film growth by simply adjusting the formulation and processing conditions of the nanoporous film prior to metallization. We further demonstrate that this process can produce nanoscopic gaps in thick (100 nm) silver films supporting localized surface plasmon resonance with large field amplification within the gaps while enabling launching of propagating surface plasmons within the silver grains. These enhanced fields provide metal enhanced fluorescence with enhancement factors as high as 21 times compared to glass, as well as enable visualization of single fluorophore emission. This work provides a low-cost rapid approach for producing novel nanostructures capable of broadband fluorescence amplification, with potential applications including plasmonic and fluorescence based optical sensing and imaging applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Laser-Induced Enhancement of Acoustic Mode Quality Factor Revealed by Correlated Single-Particle Optical and Electron Microscopy

Acoustic modes in plasmonic nanostructures provide fundamental insights into their optomechanical behavior at the nanoscale, enabling emerging applications in plasmon-enhanced optomechanics, ultrasensitive sensing, and nanoscale energy transduction. Here we explore the modulation of acoustic phonon dynamics in lithographically fabricated gold nanodisks via laser-induced photothermal annealing. Using a correlated approach that utilizes both single-particle transient extinction spectroscopy and advanced electron microscopy, we directly link nanoscale structural transformations to changes in mechanical properties as probed through the coherence of the excited acoustic modes. Specifically, ultrafast pump–probe microscopy reveals an enhancement in the acoustic mode quality factor of annealed gold nanodisks, indicative of reduced damping and improved vibrational coherence. Structural characterization via scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction confirms that photoinduced annealing results in smoother surface morphology and overall enhanced crystallinity. The improved crystalline order reduces defect and crystal boundary scattering, which we suggest as the reason underlying the lower quality factor before annealing. Furthermore, these findings demonstrate that targeted structural engineering at the nanoscale offers a powerful strategy for optimizing the optomechanical performance of plasmonic nanostructures, with broad implications for the design of next-generation nanophotonic and optomechanical systems.

Annealing (metallurgy)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Soft-Shear-Aligned Vertically Oriented Lamellar Block Copolymers for Template-Free Sub-10 nm Patterning and Hybrid Nanostructures

The template-free unidirectional alignment of lamellar block copolymers (l-BCPs) for sub-10 nm high-resolution patterning and hybrid multicomponent nanostructures is important for technological applications. Here we demonstrate a modified soft-shear directed self-assembly (SDSA) approach for aligning pristine l-BCPs and l-BCPs with incorporated polymer grafted nanoparticles (PGNPs), as well as the l-BCPs conversion to aligned gold nanowires, and hybrid of metallic gold nanowire and dielectric silica nanoparticle in the form of line-dot nanostructures. The smallest patterns have a half-pitch as small as 9.8 nm. In all cases, soft-shear is achieved using a high molecular mass polymer topcoat layer, with support on a neutral bottom layer. We also show that the hybrid line-dot nanostructures have a red-shifted plasmonic response in comparison to the neat gold nanowires. These template-free aligned BCPs and nanowires have potential use in nanopatterning applications and the line-dot nanostructures should be useful in the plasmonic sensing of biomolecules and other molecular species based on the plasmonic response of the nanowires.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Magnetic and Optical Properties of Au–Co Solid Solution and Phase-Separated Thin Films and Nanoparticles

The chemical composition and morphology of Au x Co 1–x thin films and nanoparticles are controlled via a combination of cosputtering, pulsed laser-induced dewetting (PLiD), and annealing, leading to tunable magnetic and optical properties. Regardless of chemical composition, the as-deposited thin films and as-PLiD nanoparticles are found to possess a face-centered cubic (FCC) Au x Co 1–x solid-solution crystal structure. Annealing results in large phase-separated grains of Au and Co in both the thin films and nanostructures for all chemical compositions. The magnetic and optical properties are characterized via vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), ellipsometry, optical transmission spectroscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Despite the exceptionally high magnetic anisotropy inherent to Co, the presence of sufficient Au (72 atom %) in the Au x Co 1–x solid solution results in superparamagnetic thin films. Among the as-PLiD nanoparticle samples, an increased Co composition leads to a departure from traditional ferromagnetism in favor of wasp-waisted hysteresis caused by magnetic vortices. Phase separation resulting from annealing leads to ferromagnetism for all compositions in both the thin films and nanoparticles. The optical properties of Au x Co 1–x nanostructures are also largely influenced by the chemical morphology, where the Au x Co 1–x intermixed solid solution has significantly damped plasmonic performance relative to pure Au and comparable to pure Co. Phase separation greatly enhances the quality factor, optical absorption, and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) signatures. The enhancement of the localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) scales with the reduction in Co composition, despite EELS evidence that excitation of the Co portions of a nanoparticle can provide a similar, and in some instances enhanced, LSPR resonance compared to Au. This behavior, however, is seemingly limited to the LSPR dipole mode, while higher-order modes are greatly damped by a Co aloof position. As a result, this observed magneto-plasmonic functionality and tunability could be applicable in biomedicine, namely, cancer therapeutics.

annealing (metallurgy)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Comparison of Metal Adhesion Layers for Au Films in Thermoplasmonic Applications

If thermoplasmonic applications such as heat-assisted magnetic recording are to be commercially viable, it is necessary to optimize both thermal stability and plasmonic performance of the devices involved. In this work, a variety of different adhesion layers were investigated for their ability to reduce dewetting of sputtered 50 nm Au films on SiO 2 substrates. Traditional adhesion layer metals Ti and Cr were compared with alternative materials of Al, Ta, and W. Film dewetting was shown to increase when the adhesion material diffuses through the Au layer. An adhesion layer thickness of 0.5 nm resulted in superior thermomechanical stability for all adhesion metals, with an enhancement factor of up to 200X over 5 nm thick analogues. The metals were ranked by their effectiveness in inhibiting dewetting, starting with the most effective, in the order Ta > Ti > W > Cr > AI. Finally, the Au surface-plasmon polariton response was compared for each adhesion layer, and it was found that 0.5 nm adhesion layers produced the best response, with W being the optimal adhesion layer material for plasmonic performance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Combining Sub-nanometer Adhesion and Capping Layers for Thermally Stable Nanometer-Thick Au Films

Improving the thermal stability of Au thin films is critical if thermo-plasmonic applications such as heat-assisted magnetic recording are to become commercially viable. In this work, Al capping layers are deposited on M/Au films, where adhesion metal M = Ti or Ta, and are investigated for their utility in stabilizing Au thin films against dewetting. Therefore, contrary to previous investigations, it was found that thinner capping layers (0.5 nm) result in a greater stability than that conferred by thicker (1-5 nm) layers. Deposition of 0.5 nm of Al, which subsequently oxidizes when exposed to air, resulted in up to 10x stability enhancement. Similarly, capping with 0.5 nm Al resulted in less damping of the plasmonic response than with thicker capping layers. Finally, based on this work and previous work on metallic adhesion layers, optimally stable systems for thermo-plasmonic applications are proposed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Dynamic Behavior of Platinum Atoms and Clusters in the Native Oxide Layer of Aluminum Nanocrystals

Strong metal–support interactions (SMSIs) are well-known in the field of heterogeneous catalysis to induce the encapsulation of platinum (Pt) group metals by oxide supports through high temperature H 2 reduction. However, demonstrations of SMSI overlayers have largely been limited to reducible oxides, such as TiO 2 and Nb 2 O 5 . In this report we show that the amorphous native surface oxide of plasmonic aluminum nanocrystals (AlNCs) exhibits SMSI-induced encapsulation of Pt following reduction in H 2 in a Pt structure dependent manner. Reductive treatment in H 2 at 300 °C induces the formation of an AlO x SMSI overlayer on Pt clusters, leaving Pt single-atom sites (Ptiso) exposed available for catalysis. The remaining exposed Pt iso species possess a more uniform local coordination environment than has been observed on other forms of Al 2 O 3 , suggesting that the AlO x native oxide of AlNCs presents well-defined anchoring sites for individual Pt atoms. This observation extends our understanding of SMSIs by providing evidence that H 2 -induced encapsulation can occur for a wider variety of materials and should stimulate expanded studies of this effect to include nonreducible oxides with oxygen defects and the presence of disorder. It also suggests that the single-atom sites created in this manner, when combined with the plasmonic properties of the Al nanocrystal core, may allow for site-specific single-atom plasmonic photocatalysis, providing dynamic control over the light-driven reactivity in these systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Large Transient Optical Modulation of Epsilon-Near-Zero Colloidal Nanocrystals

Here, epsilon-near-zero materials may be synthesized as colloidal nanocrystals which display large magnitude subpicosecond switching of infrared localized surface plasmon resonances. Such nanocrystals offer a solution-processable, scalable source of tunable metamaterials compatible with arbitrary substrates. Under intraband excitation, these nanocrystals display a red-shift of the plasmon feature arising from the low electron heat capacities and conduction band nonparabolicity of the oxide. Under interband pumping, they show in an ultrafast blueshift of the plasmon resonance due to transient increases in the carrier density. Combined with their high-quality factor, large changes in relative transmittance (+86%) and index of refraction (+85%) at modest control fluences (<5 mJ/cm 2 ) suggest that these materials offer great promise for all-optical switching, wavefront engineering, and beam steering operating at terahertz switching frequencies.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Hybrid Optical–Thermal Antennas for Enhanced Light Focusing and Local Temperature Control

Metal nanoantennas supporting localized surface plasmon resonances have become an indispensable tool in bio(chemical) sensing and nanoscale imaging applications. The high plasmon-enhanced electric field intensity in the visible or near-IR range that enables the above applications may also cause local heating of nanoantennas. We present a design of hybrid optical–thermal antennas that simultaneously enable intensity enhancement at the operating wavelength in the visible and nanoscale local temperature control. We demonstrate a possibility to reduce the hybrid antenna operating temperature via enhanced infrared thermal emission. We predict via rigorous numerical modeling that hybrid optical–thermal antennas that support high-quality-factor photonic-plasmonic modes enable up to 2 orders of magnitude enhancement of localized electric fields and of the optical power absorbed in the nanoscale metal volume. At the same time, the hybrid antenna temperature can be lowered by several hundred degrees with respect to its all-metal counterpart under continuous irradiance of 104–105 W/m2. The temperature reduction effect is attributed to the enhanced radiative cooling, which is mediated by the thermally excited localized surface phonon polariton modes. We further show that temperature reduction under even higher irradiances can be achieved by a combination of enhanced radiative and convective cooling in hybrid antennas. To conclude, we demonstrate how hybrid optical–thermal antennas can be used to achieve strong localized heating of nanoparticles while keeping the rest of the optical chip at low temperature.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Cavity electrodynamics of van der Waals heterostructures

Van der Waals heterostructures host many-body quantum phenomena that are tunable in situ using electrostatic gates. Their constituent two-dimensional materials and gates can naturally form plasmonic self-cavities, confining light in standing waves of current density due to finite-size effects. The plasmonic resonances of typical graphite gates fall in the gigahertz to terahertz range, corresponding to the same microelectronvolt to millielectronvolt energy scale as the phenomena in van der Waals heterostructures that they electrically control. This raises the possibility that the built-in cavity modes of graphite gates are relevant for shaping the low-energy physics of these heterostructures. However, probing these cavity-coupled electrodynamics is challenging as devices are notably smaller than the diffraction limit at the relevant wavelengths. Here we report on the intrinsic cavity conductivity of gate-tunable graphene heterostructures. As the carrier density is tuned, we observe coupling and spectral weight transfer between graphene and graphite plasmonic cavity modes in the ultrastrong coupling regime. We present an analytical model to describe the results and provide general principles for cavity design. Our findings show that intrinsic cavity effects are important for understanding the low-energy electrodynamics of van der Waals heterostructures and open a pathway for useful functionality through cavity control.

Electronic properties and materials↗
DOE OSTI2013

Quantum Bohm correction to polarization spectrum of graphene

In this paper, by using a quantum hydrodynamic plasma model which incorporates the important quantum statistical pressure and electron diffraction force, we present the corrected plasmon dispersion relation for graphene which includes a k{sup 4} quantum term arising from the collective electron density wave interference effects. This correction may well describe the shortcoming of the previous results based on the classical hydrodynamics and confirms that the quantum hydrodynamic model may be as effective as the random phase approximation in successful description of the collective density excitations in quantum plasmas. It is clearly observed that the quantum correction due to the collective interaction of electron waves gives rise to significant contribution in the dispersion behavior of the collective plasmon density waves in a wide range of wavelength, as a fundamental property of the monolayer atom-thick graphene. It is revealed that the plasmon density-perturbation linear phase-speed in graphene possesses some universal minimum characteristic value, in the absence of an external magnetic field. It is further remarked that such correction also has important effect on the dielectric function, hence on the impurity screening, in graphene.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

The Coulomb excitations of Bernal bilayer graphene under external fields

We study the field effects on the Coulomb excitation spectrum of Bernal bilayer graphene by using the tight-binding model and the random-phase approximation. The electric field opens the band gap and creates the saddle points, the latter brings about a prominent interband plasmon. On the other hand, the magnetic field induces the dispersionless Landau levels (LLs) that causes the inter-LL plasmons. The two kinds of field-induced plasmon modes can be further tuned by the magnitude of momentum transfer and the field strength. The predicted results may be further validated by the inelastic light-scattering or high-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy (HREELLS)

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Optical and phonon properties of ZnO:CuO mixed nanocomposite

Optical and phonon properties of ZnO:CuO nanocrystals which are prepared through sol-gel method are reported here. From X-ray diffraction studies, observed that Cu doping replaces the Zn and also forms secondary phase. Optical absorption spectral studies shows that the exciton and plasmon related bands of ZnO and CuO phase, respectively. Fluorescence studies of the prepared samples shows that green emission from ZnO is completely depleted and the same is attributed to CuO Plasmon. Raman spectral studies reveal that secondary phase (impurity) induced profile changes in 1LO and E{sub 2High} modes. Asymmetry in peak shape is analyzed using Fano profile with the combination of Lorentzian profile. Moreover, the monotonic increase of Fano factor and full width at half maxima is hopefully attributed to the continuum arises by the plasmons of Cu-O phase in ZnO nanosystem.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Current control of light by nonreciprocal magnetoplasmonics

The ability to actively control light has long been a major scientific and technological goal. We proposed a scheme that allows for active control of light by utilizing the nonreciprocal magnetoplasmonic effect. As a proof of concept, we applied current signal through an ultrathin metallic film in a magneto-plasmonic multilayer and found that dynamic photonic nonreciprocity appears in magnetic-optical material layer due to the magnetic field being induced from current signal and modulates surface plasmon polaritons trapped in the metal surface and the light reflected. The proposed concept provides a possible way for the active control of light and could find potential applications such as ultrafast optoelectronic signal processing for plasmonic nanocircuit technology and ultrafast/large-aperture free-space electro-optic modulation platform for wireless laser communication technology.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Hybridized magnonic materials for THz frequency applications

The capability of magnons to hybridize and strongly couple with diverse excitations offers a promising avenue for realizing and controlling emergent properties that hold significant potential for applications in devices, circuits, and information processing. In this Letter, we present recent theoretical and experimental developments in magnon-based hybrid systems, focusing on the combination of magnon excitation in an antiferromagnet with other excitations, namely, plasmons in a topological insulator, phonons in a 2D antiferromagnetic (2D AFM), and photons. Here, the existence of THz frequency magnons, plasmons, and phonons makes magnon-based hybrid systems particularly appealing for high-operating-speed devices. In this context, we explore several directions to advance magnon hybrid systems, including strong coupling between a surface plasmon and magnon polariton in a topological insulator /AFM bilayer, a giant spin Nernst effect induced by magnon–phonon coupling in 2D AFMs, and control of magnon–photon coupling using spin torque.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗