Role of bromide in hydrogen peroxide oxidation of CTAB-stabilized gold nanorods in aqueous solutions

A portable intelligent hydrogel platform for multicolor visual detection of HAase

Hyaluronidase (HAase) is an important endoglycosidase involved in numerous physiological and pathological processes, such as apoptosis, senescence, and cancer progression. Simple, convenient, and sensitive detection of HAase is important for clinical diagnosis. Herein, an easy-to-operate multicolor visual sensing strategy was developed for HAase determination. The proposed sensor was composed of an enzyme-responsive hydrogel and a nanochromogenic system (gold nanobipyramids (AuNBPs)). The enzyme-responsive hydrogel, formed by polyethyleneimine-hyaluronic acid (PEI-HA), was specifically hydrolyzed with HAase, leading to the release of platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs). Subsequently, PtNPs catalyzed the mixed system of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and H2O2 to produce TMB2+ under acidic conditions. Then, TMB2+ effectively etched the AuNBPs and resulted in morphological changes in the AuNBPs, accompanied by a blueshift in the localized surface plasmon resonance peak and vibrant colors. Therefore, HAase can be semiquantitatively determined by directly observing the color change of AuNBPs with the naked eye. On the basis of this, the method has a linear detection range of HAase concentrations between 0.6 and 40 U/mL, with a detection limit of 0.3 U/mL. In addition, our designed multicolor biosensor successfully detected the concentration of HAase in human serum samples. The results showed no obvious difference between this method and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, indicating the good accuracy and usability of the suggested method.

TMB+-mediated etching of urchin-like gold nanostructures for colorimetric sensing

The morphology-dependent localized surface plasmon resonance of gold nanostructures has been widely utilized for designing sensors. One method relies on the color change of gold nanoparticles upon etching. In previous work, TMB2+oxidized from 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) was found to etch gold nanorods (AuNRs), leading to a spectrum of different colors. However, the preparation of TMB2+needs the addition of a strong acid and other harsh conditions. Herein, a new colorimetric biosensing platform was developed using urchin-like gold nanoparticles (AuNUs). Compared with AuNRs, the etching of AuNUs can happen under mild conditions by TMB+at pH 6, protecting enzymes and proteins from denaturation. The role of CTAB surfactant was dissected, and its bromide ions were found to be involved in the etching process. Based on these observations, a one-step colorimetric detection of H2O2was realized by using horseradish peroxidase and H2O2to oxidize TMB. Within 30 min, this system achieved a detection limit of 80 nM H2O2. This work offered fundamental insights into the etching of anisotropic gold nanostructures and optimized the etching conditions. These advancements hold promise for broader applications in biosensing and analytical chemistry.

Fast and Facile Etching of Gold Nanorods by N-Halosuccinimides: Toward Multicolorimetric Identification and Quantification of 20 Natural Amino Acids

Gold nanorods (AuNRs) have recently become fascinating chromophores in the field of colorimetric sensing because of their eye-catching rainbow colors along with the high dimensionality of their optical profile. The etching of AuNRs using an analyte-sensitive oxidizing agent is particularly an attractive tool not only for adjusting their plasmonic behavior through altering their aspect ratio but also for correlating the observed signal with the identity and concentration of the analyte. However, the deployment of this strategy in the field of sensing has been seriously hindered by various factors ranging from slow etching kinetics and the need for nonambient temperatures to low degrees of controllability along with the high toxicity of the etchants. To resolve these challenges, the present study aims to introduce the outstanding potentials of two inexpensive mild oxidants comprising N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS) in the highly fast and controllable etching of AuNRs at room temperature. By controlling the concentration of the etchant and the pH of the medium, the longitudinal and transversal peaks could be well adjusted with nanometer precision. In an attempt to elucidate the etching mechanism, the effects of various parameters including the etchant concentration and pH, as well as the kinetics of the etching process were thoroughly investigated. After all, the capability of NBS in decarboxylating the amino acids was further exploited in the design of an all-inclusive multicolorimetric sensor array based on the etching of AuNRs for the sensitive quantification and highly accurate discrimination of all 20 amino acids in the micromolar range. To this end, the acquired data set was analyzed by two machine learning techniques including partial least-squares regression (PLSR) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The versatility of N-halosuccinimide reactions with various categories of organic compounds underlies ample opportunities for the design of diverse multicolorimetric sensors, further glamorizing the prospect of this approach.

Strong coupling in plasmonic metal nanoparticles

The study of strong coupling between light and matter has gained significant attention in recent years due to its potential applications in diverse fields, including artificial light harvesting, ultraefficient polariton lasing, and quantum information processing. Plasmonic cavities are a compelling alternative of conventional photonic resonators, enabling ultracompact polaritonic systems to operate at room temperature. This review focuses on colloidal metal nanoparticles, highlighting their advantages as plasmonic cavities in terms of their facile synthesis, tunable plasmonic properties, and easy integration with excitonic materials. We explore recent examples of strong coupling in single nanoparticles, dimers, nanoparticle-on-a-mirror configurations, and other types of nanoparticle-based resonators. These systems are coupled with an array of excitonic materials, including atomic emitters, semiconductor quantum dots, two-dimensional materials, and perovskites. In the concluding section, we offer perspectives on the future of strong coupling research in nanoparticle systems, emphasizing the challenges and potentials that lie ahead. By offering a thorough understanding of the current state of research in this field, we aim to inspire further investigations and advances in the study of strongly coupled nanoparticle systems, ultimately unlocking new avenues in nanophotonic applications.

Shape Transformation Mechanism of Gold Nanoplates

Shape control is of key importance in utilizing the structure-property relationship of nanocrystals. The high surface-to-volume ratio of nanocrystals induces dynamic surface reactions on exposed facets of nanocrystals, such as adsorption, desorption, and diffusion of surface atoms, all of which are important in overall shape transformation. However, it is difficult to track shape transformation of nanocrystals and understand the underlying mechanism at the level of distinguishing events on individual facets. Herein, we investigate changes of individual surface-exposed facets during diverse shape transformations of Au nanocrystals using liquid phase TEM in various chemical potentials and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. The results reveal that the diffusion of surface atoms on nanocrystals is the governing factor in determining the final structure in shape transformation, causing the fast transformation of unstable facets to truncated morphology with minimized surface energy. The role of surface diffusion introduced here can be further applied to understanding the formation mechanism of variously shaped nanocrystals.

Waterproof Cellulose-Based Substrates for In-Drop Plasmonic Colorimetric Sensing of Volatiles: Application to Acid-Labile Sulfide Determination in Waters

The present work reports on the assessment of widely available waterproof cellulose-based substrates for the development of sensitive in-drop plasmonic sensing approaches. The applicability of three inexpensive substrates, namely, Whatman 1PS, polyethylene-coated filter paper, and tracing paper, as holders for microvolumes of colloidal solutions was evaluated. Waterproof cellulose-based substrates demonstrated to be highly convenient platforms for analytical purposes, as they enabled in situ generation of volatiles and syringeless drop exposure unlike conventional single-drop microextraction approaches and can behave as sample compartments for smartphone-based colorimetric sensing in an integrated way. Remarkably, large drop volumes (≥20 μL) of colloidal solutions can be employed for enrichment processes when using Whatman 1PS as holder. In addition, the stability and potential applicability of spherical, rod-shaped, and core-shell metallic NPs onto waterproof cellulose-based substrates was evaluated. In particular, Au@AgNPs showed potential for the colorimetric detection of in situ generated H₂S, I₂, and Br₂, whereas AuNRs hold promise for I₂, Br₂, and Hg⁰ colorimetric sensing. As a proof of concept, a smartphone-based colorimetric assay for determination of acid-labile sulfide in environmental water samples was developed with the proposed approach taking advantage of the ability of Au@AgNPs for H₂S sensing. The assay showed a limit of detection of 0.46 μM and a repeatability of 4.4% (N = 8), yielding satisfactory recoveries (91-107%) when applied to the analysis of environmental waters.

Combination of the lateral-flow immunoassay with multicolor gold nanorod etching for the semi-quantitative detection of digoxin

We demonstrated the first ever combination of the lateral-flow immunoassay (LFA) with gold nanorod etching to achieve a multicolor readout where the changes in color hue are more easily discernible than changes in intensity of a single color.

Gold Nanorods: The Most Versatile Plasmonic Nanoparticles

Gold nanorods (NRs), pseudo-one-dimensional rod-shaped nanoparticles (NPs), have become one of the burgeoning materials in the recent years due to their anisotropic shape and adjustable plasmonic properties. With the continuous improvement in synthetic methods, a variety of materials have been attached around Au NRs to achieve unexpected or improved plasmonic properties and explore state-of-the-art technologies. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the latest progress on Au NRs, the most versatile anisotropic plasmonic NPs. We present a representative overview of the advances in the synthetic strategies and outline an extensive catalogue of Au-NR-based heterostructures with tailored architectures and special functionalities. The bottom-up assembly of Au NRs into preprogrammed metastructures is then discussed, as well as the design principles. We also provide a systematic elucidation of the different plasmonic properties associated with the Au-NR-based structures, followed by a discussion of the promising applications of Au NRs in various fields. We finally discuss the future research directions and challenges of Au NRs.

A novel method for the rapid sensing of H2O2 using a colorimetric AuNP probe and its DFT study

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) has tremendous applications in industry, medicine and in our day-to-day lives. It is toxic to human health upon exposure at a high concentration. Therefore, a green and cost-effective sensing technique is greatly needed for the sensitive naked eye detection of peroxide. This study is mainly focused on the synthesis of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) using an aqueous extract of Elsholtzia blanda, a flower that is widely available in the North Eastern part of India, the characterization of which was carried out using different analytical techniques. The bioactive molecule (epigallocatechin gallate) present in the aqueous extract was identified, isolated and confirmed through high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array, high-resolution mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis which could be responsible for the reduction of Au³⁺ ions. By approaching this greener route, the synthesized nanomaterial was further used as a colorimetric probe for the detection of H₂O₂ and the degradation of AuNPs was observed. The limit of detection was found to be 0.7435 μM in the present work. The degradation of the AuNPs was found to be linearly dependent on peroxide concentration. Along with these results, kinetic studies were carried out by considering different effects to monitor the sensing speed of the AuNPs. The plausible mechanism of the work was supported by density functional theory study.

Colorimetric Nanoplasmonics to Spot Hyperglycemia From Saliva

Early diagnostics and point-of-care (POC) devices can save people's lives or drastically improve their quality. In particular, millions of diabetic patients worldwide benefit from POC devices for frequent self-monitoring of blood glucose. Yet, this still involves invasive sampling processes, which are quite discomforting for frequent measurements, or implantable devices dedicated to selected chronic patients, thus precluding large-scale monitoring of the globally increasing diabetic disorders. Here, we report a non-invasive colorimetric sensing platform to identify hyperglycemia from saliva. We designed plasmonic multibranched gold nanostructures, able to rapidly change their shape and color (naked-eye detection) in the presence of hyperglycemic conditions. This "reshaping approach" provides a fast visual response and high sensitivity, overcoming common detection issues related to signal (color intensity) losses and bio-matrix interferences. Notably, optimal performances of the assay were achieved in real biological samples, where the biomolecular environment was found to play a key role. Finally, we developed a dipstick prototype as a rapid home-testing kit.

Ultrasensitive Visual Detection of Glucose in Urine Based on the Iodide-Promoted Etching of Gold Bipyramids

Blood glucose monitoring is an essential but painful component of diabetes management, so it is urgent to develop simple, convenient, and noninvasive glucose monitoring methods as alternatives. Because the glucose level in urine is directly related to the blood glucose, urine can be an alternative for blood glucose monitoring. Herein, we report the development of a new and highly sensitive noninvasive colorimetric assay to detect the glucose content in urine samples using gold bipyramids (GBPs). The principle of this method is to utilize hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), the oxidation product of glucose, to etch GBPs, where the urine glucose will be quantified based on the displacement of the absorption peak of GBPs. The unique morphology (sharp tips) and etching mechanism (from tips) of GBPs determine the high sensitivity of this assay. Under optimal conditions, this colorimetric assay shows a dynamic range of 0.5-250 μM and a detection limit of 0.34 μM for artificial urine samples. This detection capability is ideal when sample dilution is necessary. Another advantage is that the color change of the GBP solution in this assay is convenient for the visual readout of the urine glucose semiquantitatively by the naked eye. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated here that the iodide ion has the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) activity and can be used alone to promote the reduction reaction of H₂O₂, which eliminates the use of HRP enzymes, simplifies the reaction, and reduces costs. The role of iodide ions has been studied and mainly attributed as a catalyst with I₂ as the reaction intermediate, which reduced the activation energy for the reduction of H₂O₂.

Detection of ferrous ion by etching-based multi-colorimetric sensing of gold nanobipyramids

Colorimetric sensing methods based on non-spherically symmetric gold (Au) nanoparticles have become a powerful tool in the field of biomedical detection due to their intriguing plasmonic properties. In this study, Au nanobipyramids (Au NBPs) were used as colorimetric sensing probes to detect ferrous ions (Fe²⁺) through tip etching. The quick etching of Au NBPs along the longitudinal direction by superoxide radicals generated by the reaction of Fe²⁺ and H₂O₂ led local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) to blue shift and produced vivid color change that could be used for visual inspection. Under the optimal reaction conditions, the peak shift of the Au NBPs and the logarithm of the concentrations of Fe²⁺ had a linear relationship in the range of 10 nM to 10 μM, with a very low detection limit of 1.29 nM. During the etching process, a different end shape of the Au nanoparticles results in a different process for the morphology transition, which makes the degree of spectral change and detection sensitivity significantly different. In the presence of trace amounts of Fe²⁺ (<1000 nM), the detection sensitivity of Au NBPs with sharp ends which rely on aspect ratio and truncation is nine times higher than that of gold nanorods with round ends which only rely on aspect ratio. Although the color change of larger-sized Au NBPs was not clear during detection, the LSPR peak shift was more severe. Therefore, the system provides different modes for detecting Fe²⁺ according to Au NBPs with different sizes and characteristics.

A feasible sonochemical approach to synthesize CuO@CeO2 nanomaterial and their enhanced non-enzymatic sensor performance towards neurotransmitter

A nanostructured and high conductive cupric oxide (CuO NPs) with hierarchical CeO₂ sheets-like structure was synthesized by a facile sonochemical approach. Furthermore, CuO/CeO₂ nanostructure is synthesized by high-intensity ultrasonic probe (Ti-horn, 50 kHz and 100 W) at ambient air. Moreover, the synthesized CuO/CeO₂ material was characterized by various analytical techniques including FESEM, EDX, XRD and electrochemical methods. Then, the synthesized CuO/CeO₂ composite was applied for the electrocatalytic detection of dopamine using CV and DPV techniques. In addition, the CuO/CeO₂ modified electrode has good electrocatalytic performance with high linear range from 0.025 to 98.5 µM towards the determination of dopamine drug and high sensitivity of the CuO/CeO₂ modified drug sensor was calculated as 16.34 nM and 4.823 μA·µM^-1·cm^-2, respectively. Moreover, a repeatability, reproducibility and stability of the CuO@CeO₂ mixture modified electrode were analyzed towards the determination of dopamine biomolecule. Interestingly, the real time application of CuO@CeO₂ modified electrode was established in different serum and drug samples.

Plasmonic thermochromism based on a reversible redox reaction of Ag+/Ag on Au nanorods

Reversible redox reaction-based thermochromism using plasmonic nanocrystals is challenging due to the requirements set based on the complexity of the reaction system where the oxidizing and reducing agents must not interfere with each other, and both should possess temperature sensitivity. Herein, we demonstrate plasmonic thermochromism based on a reversible redox reaction of Ag+/Ag on Au nanorods (AuNRs) by incorporating temperature-sensitive reducing and oxidizing agents into the same system. The competition between reduction and oxidation is solely dependent on temperature. When the temperature is above (below) the transition temperature, the reduction of Ag+ (oxidation of Ag) dominates on the surface of AuNRs, and the thermochromic nanostructure solution appears green (red). An experimental study on the mechanism reveals that HOCl produced at low concentrations by H2O2 is the source of the observed temperature dependence of the Ag oxidation. Rationally tuning the transition temperature in a range from 27 to 40 °C can be realized by changing the concentration of some key chemical compounds in the solution. The thermochromic solution can be standalone-functional within multiple cycles of heating and cooling and long-term storage without any additional reagents. Our study provides new insight into plasmonic thermochromism and may pave the way for fabricating smart thermochromic materials.

Gold Nanoparticle-Based Colorimetric Strategies for Chemical and Biological Sensing Applications

Gold nanoparticles are popularly used in biological and chemical sensors and their applications owing to their fascinating chemical, optical, and catalytic properties. Particularly, the use of gold nanoparticles is widespread in colorimetric assays because of their simple, cost-effective fabrication, and ease of use. More importantly, the gold nanoparticle sensor response is a visual change in color, which allows easy interpretation of results. Therefore, many studies of gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric methods have been reported, and some review articles published over the past years. Most reviews focus exclusively on a single gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric technique for one analyte of interest. In this review, we focus on the current developments in different colorimetric assay designs for the sensing of various chemical and biological samples. We summarize and classify the sensing strategies and mechanism analyses of gold nanoparticle-based detection. Additionally, typical examples of recently developed gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric methods and their applications in the detection of various analytes are presented and discussed comprehensively.

Au Nanobottles with Synthetically Tunable Overall and Opening Sizes for Chemo-Photothermal Combined Therapy

Highly asymmetric Au nanostructures, such as split Au nanorings and Au nanocups, exhibit attractive plasmonic properties because of their asymmetric geometries. To facilitate their plasmonic applications, effective and facile synthetic methods for producing asymmetric Au nanostructures with controllable sizes and uniform shapes are highly desirable. Herein, we report on an approach for the synthesis of largely asymmetric colloidal Au nanobottles with synthetically tunable overall and opening sizes. Au nanobottles with overall sizes in the range of ∼100-230 nm are obtained through sacrificial templating with differently sized PbS nano-octahedra. The opening sizes of the produced Au nanobottles can be tailored from ∼10 to ∼120 nm by either adjusting the Au/PbS molar ratio in the growth process or controlling the oxidation degree. The achieved size tunability allows the plasmon resonance wavelength of Au nanobottles to be varied in the range of ∼600-900 nm. Our uniform Au nanobottles, which possess controllable sizes, large cavity volumes, and tunable plasmon resonance wavelengths in the visible to near-infrared range, have been further applied for anticancer drug delivery and photothermal therapy. The effects of surface coating and the opening size of Au nanobottles on the drug encapsulation efficiency (EE) and initial burst drug release are systemically evaluated. A high doxorubicin EE and low initial burst drug release are realized with the dense silica-coated Au nanobottles having an opening size of 44 nm. In addition, chemo-photothermal combined therapy has been demonstrated with the doxorubicin-loaded Au nanobottles. Our results will be helpful for the design of Au nanobottles with different sizes and plasmonic properties as well as provide ample opportunities for exploring various plasmon-enabled applications of Au nanobottles.

Tailoring optical cross sections of gold nanorods at a target plasmonic resonance wavelength using bromosalicylic acid

We demonstrate finely tailoring optical cross sections of AuNRs at a fixed target resonance wavelength, on the basis of AuNR overgrowth using a binary surfactant mixture consisting 5-bromosalicylic acid (BSA) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB).

The Many "Facets" of Halide Ions in the Chemistry of Colloidal Inorganic Nanocrystals

Over the years, scientists have identified various synthetic "handles" while developing wet chemical protocols for achieving a high level of shape and compositional complexity in colloidal nanomaterials. Halide ions have emerged as one such handle which serve as important surface active species that regulate nanocrystal (NC) growth and concomitant physicochemical properties. Halide ions affect the NC growth kinetics through several means, including selective binding on crystal facets, complexation with the precursors, and oxidative etching. On the other hand, their presence on the surfaces of semiconducting NCs stimulates interesting changes in the intrinsic electronic structure and interparticle communication in the NC solids eventually assembled from them. Then again, halide ions also induce optoelectronic tunability in NCs where they form part of the core, through sheer composition variation. In this review, we describe these roles of halide ions in the growth of nanostructures and the physical changes introduced by them and thereafter demonstrate the commonality of these effects across different classes of nanomaterials.

Hydrothermal Cation Exchange Enabled Gradual Evolution of Au@ZnS-AgAuS Yolk-Shell Nanocrystals and Their Visible Light Photocatalytic Applications

Yolk-shell hybrid nanoparticles with noble metal core and programmed semiconductor shell composition may exhibit synergistic effects and tunable catalytic properties. In this work, the hydrothermal cation exchange synthesis of Au@ZnS-AgAuS yolk-shell nanocrystals (Y-S NCs) with well-fabricated void size, grain-boundary-architectured ZnS-AgAuS shell and in situ generated Au cocatalyst are demonstrated. Starting from the novel cavity-free Au@AgAuS core-shell NCs, via aqueous cation exchange reaction with Zn2+, the gradual evolution with produced Au@ZnS-AgAuS Y-S NCs can be achieved successfully. This unprecedented evolution can be reasonably explained by cation exchange initialized chemical etching of Au core, followed by the diffusion through the shell to be AgAuS and then ZnS. By hydrothermal treatment provided optimal redox environment, Au ions in shell were partially reduced to be Au NCs on the surface. The UV-vis absorption spectra evolution and visible light photocatalytic performances, including improved photodegradation behavior and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity, have demonstrated their potential applications. This new one-pot way to get diverse heterointerfaces for better photoinduced electron/hole separation synergistically can be anticipated for more kinds of photocatalytic organic synthesis.

Colorimetric determination of ferrous ion via morphology transition of gold nanorods

A colorimetric method is described for the determination of ferrous ion (Fe²⁺) with high sensitivity and selectivity. The method is based on catalytic etching of gold nanorod (NR). In an acid condition, Fe²⁺ reacts with H₂O₂ to produce superoxide radical (O₂^•-) that etches gold NRs from the low energy surface along the longitudinal direction preferentially. As a result, the changes in the absorption spectrum and color of gold NR can be measured and also can be detected visually. Under the optimal conditions, the assay has very low detection limit (13.5 nM) and a linear response in a concentration range of 75 to 1 μM. The method was applied to the determination of Fe²⁺ in spiked samples of fetal bovine serum and also transferred to a kind of test stripe for use in fast practical applications. A unique colorimetric sensing method is demonstrated for the colorimetric detection of Fe²⁺, again based on the oxidation of gold nanorods which leads to the blue-shift of the absorption. Graphical abstract A unique colorimetric sensing method was shown for the colorimetric detection of Fe²⁺. Fe²⁺reacts with H₂O₂ to generate superoxide radical that oxidize gold nanorods. This leads to a color change from blue-green to pink.

Dual-color plasmonic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on enzyme-mediated etching of Au nanoparticles

Colorimetric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay utilizing 3′-3-5′-5-tetramethylbenzidine(TMB) as the chromogenic substrate has been widely used in the hospital for the detection of all kinds of disease biomarkers. Herein, we demonstrate a strategy to change this single-color display into dual-color responses to improve the accuracy of visual inspection. Our investigation firstly reveals that oxidation state of 3′-3-5′-5-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB²⁺) can quantitatively etch gold nanoparticles. Therefore, the incorporation of gold nanoparticles into a commercial TMB-based ELISA kit could generate dual-color responses: the solution color varied gradually from wine red (absorption peak located at ~530 nm) to colorless, and then from colorless to yellow (absorption peak located at ~450 nm) with the increase amount of targets. These dual-color responses effectively improved the sensitivity as well as the accuracy of visual inspection. For example, the proposed dual-color plasmonic ELISA is demonstrated for the detection of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in human serum with a visual limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.0093 ng/mL.

Dispersive Plasmon Damping in Single Gold Nanorods by Platinum Adsorbates

Surface modifications of plasmonic nanoparticles with metal adsorbates are essential in applications such as plasmonic sensing, plasmon-enhanced photocatalysis, etc., where spectral broadening is usually observed. A single particle study is presented on plasmon damping by adsorption of platinum (Pt) clusters. Single particle dark-field spectroscopy is employed to measure exactly the same gold nanorod before and after the Pt adsorption. The Pt-induced plasmon damping in terms of linewidth increase is found dependent on the resonance wavelength of the measured nanorod, which is dispersive in nature. The measured dispersion generally matches the theoretical prediction, and it basically exhibits a gradual increase with decreasing resonance energy. This increase can be attributed to the fact that the nanorod as a better resonator is more susceptible to the Pt adsorption than the spherical particles. Moreover, simulated results based on discrete dipole approximation method further indicate that the damping is mainly contributed from the adsorbates on the ends of the nanorod and independent on the type of the metal adsorbed. Knowledge and insights gained in this study can be very important for the design and fabrication of plasmonic heterostructures as functional nanomaterials.

Direct coating of mesoporous titania on CTAB-capped gold nanorods

We demonstrate a CTAB-templated approach towards direct coating of mesoporous titania on gold nanorods in aqueous solutions. The formation of the mesoporous shell is found to be closely correlated with CTAB concentration and the amount of the titania precursor. This approach can be readily extended to form mesoporous titania shells on other CTAB-capped nanoparticles.

"Stainless" Gold Nanorods: Preserving Shape, Optical Properties, and SERS Activity in Oxidative Environment

One of the main limitations to the application of gold nanorods (Au NRs) as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) probes for in situ monitoring of chemical processes is their instability in oxidative environments. Oxidation induces progressive anisotropic shortening of the NRs, which are eventually dissolved once this process has been completed. This paper compares two types of Au NRs, obtained through different routes and characterized by similar aspect ratios but different sizes. The key factors influencing the resistance of Au NRs to oxidation were systematically investigated, showing that the reduction of free bromide species and the increase of the particle size allowed the NRs to maintain their stability under harsh environments for several weeks. The most stable Au NRs were also demonstrated to be highly efficient SERS substrates in a series of Raman experiments involving molecular probes, treated under either oxidizing or nonoxidizing conditions, which simulate the oxidation of organic pollutants in water. These hallmarks make these "stainless" Au NRs attractive tools for ultrasensitive diagnostic under real working conditions.