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Optimizing the Refractive Index Sensitivity of Plasmonically Coupled Gold Nanoparticles

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Abstract

The possibility to enhance the local refractive index sensitivity using plasmonic coupling between spherical gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) has been investigated. A strong and distinct optical coupling between Au-NPs of various sizes was achieved by controlling the interparticle separation using a layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolytes. The frequency of the coupled plasmon peak could be tuned by varying either the particle size or the interparticle separation, shown both experimentally and by theoretical simulations. The bulk refractive index (RI) sensitivity for the plasmonic coupling modes was investigated and compared to the RI sensitivity of monolayers of well-separated Au-NPs, and the results clearly demonstrates that the RI sensitivity can be significantly enhanced in plasmonically coupled Au-NPs. The proposed approach is simple and scalable and improves the rather modest RI sensitivity of spherical gold nanoparticles with a factor of 3, providing a new route for fabrication of inexpensive sensors based on plasmonic nanostructures.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support from Linköping University, the Swedish Research Council (VR), the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF), the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW), and the Center in Nano science and technology (CeNano). During this study, E.M. was enrolled in the graduate school Forum Scientium. B. Sepulveda acknowledges the financial support of MINECO, Explora Project MAT2011-12645-E

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Molecular Physics, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden

    Erik Martinsson, Bo Liedberg & Daniel Aili

  2. ICN2—Institut Catala de Nanociencia i Nanotecnologia, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Spain

    Borja Sepulveda

  3. CSIC—Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, CIBER-BBN, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Spain

    Borja Sepulveda

  4. Centre for Biomimetic Sensor Science, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Drive, Research Technoplaza, 6th Story, XFrontiers Block, Singapore, 637553, Singapore

    Peng Chen & Bo Liedberg

  5. Division of Biomolecular and Organic Electronics, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden

    Anders Elfwing

Authors
  1. Erik Martinsson
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  2. Borja Sepulveda
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  3. Peng Chen
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  4. Anders Elfwing
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  5. Bo Liedberg
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  6. Daniel Aili
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Correspondence to Daniel Aili.

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Martinsson, E., Sepulveda, B., Chen, P. et al. Optimizing the Refractive Index Sensitivity of Plasmonically Coupled Gold Nanoparticles. Plasmonics 9, 773–780 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-013-9659-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-013-9659-y

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