Tailoring the Core-Satellite Nanoassembly Architectures by Tuning Internanoparticle Electrostatic Interactions

The use of plasmonic nanoplatforms has received increasing interest in a wide variety of fields ranging from theranostics to environmental sensing to plant biology. In particular, the development of plasmonic nanoparticles into ordered nanoclusters has been of special interest due to the new chemical functionalities and optical responses that they can introduce. However, achieving predetermined nanocluster architectures from bottom-up approaches in the colloidal solution state still remains a great challenge. Herein, we report a one-pot assembly approach that provides flexibility in precise control of core-satellite nanocluster architectures in the colloidal solution state. We found that the pH of the assembly medium plays a vital role in the hierarchy of the nanoclusters. The architecture along with the size of the satellite gold nanoparticles determines the optical responses of nanoclusters. Using electron microscopy and optical spectroscopy, we introduce a set of design rules for the synthesis of distinct architectures of silica-core gold satellites nanoclusters in the colloidal solution state. Our findings provide insight into advancing the colloidal solution state nanoclusters formation with predictable architectures and optical properties.

Highly Sensitive Plasmonic Optical Sensors Based on Gold Core-Satellite Nanostructures Immobilized on Glass Substrates

Fabrication of discrete nanostructures consisting of noble metal nanoparticles immobilized on substrates is challenging because of structural complexity but important for chip-based plasmonic sensor technology. Here we report optical sensing capabilities of core-satellite nanostructures made of gold nanoparticles immobilized on glass substrate, which were fabricated by combining stepwise interconnection of gold nanoparticles through dithiol linkers and surface treatment using vacuum ultraviolet light. The nanostructures exhibit large changes in coupled plasmon resonance peak upon surrounding refractive index, with sensitibity of ca. 350 nm RIU(-1), thus providing highly sensitive optical sensors for determining the surrounding refractive index and detecting organic vapors.