Multipodal Rh nanocrystals (see HRTEM image of a tripod) prepared through a polyol synthesis display surface plasmon resonance bands in the visible region. Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering from 4‐mercaptopyridine adsorbed on Rh multipods is 19‐times stronger than that from Rh nanocubes.

Azobenzene-functionalized polymers have been extensively explored for potential uses in various technological applications, such as optical information storage, optical switching, diffractive optical elements, and so on. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] All of these applications are based on the efficient photoisomerization and photoinduced reorientation of azobenzene groups in the polymer chains. Upon irradiation with polarized light at an appropriate wavelength, azobenzene moieties undergo a photoinduced reorientation through the reversible trans > cis photoisomerization. This isomerization cycle under an interference laser illumination frequently leads to mass transport processes at typically micrometer levels, resulting in the formation of surface relief gratings (SRG) on the film. The resultant reliefs correspond to the patterns of incident light modulations including both intensity and polarization. [1,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Such phenomena have been investigated with a variety of azobenzene functionalized polymers. The side-chain type polymers have been favorably employed to attain the efficient light driven mass transport. There have been some attempts to produce SRG in the host-guest system in which azo dye molecules are just embedded in the polymer films. [16] In such systems, however, the resulting surface undulation is small (< 10 nm) even though the cis/trans photoisomerization proceeds. The concentration of the dye is closely linked to the ability to form SRG structures, and the high amount of dye (up to 30 %) should be incorporated into the polymer to make this effect. Fukuda et al. claimed that the dye incorporation at such a high percentage can be possible only by using functionalized side-chain polymers with improved solubility.[17]We have recently developed a family of soft liquid crystalline azobenzene polymers applicable for SRG formation. [18][19][20][21][22] Use of soft liquid crystalline azobenzene polymer allowed unexpectedly marked enhancement in the SRG formation upon patterned irradiation. The photon dose for the completion of migration being approximately 10 3 -fold lower than that for widely reported amorphous and liquid crystalline polymers. From the knowledge obtained by our previous investigations, the mechanism of the SRG formation in this system could be assumed as follow. Pre-exposure of the films to ultra-violet (UV) light leading to generation of cis isomer was essential for the enhancement of photosensitivity. The patterned visible irradiation gives rise to the spatial distributions of the transrich and cis-rich regions. The film material starts to move from the trans-rich regions to cis-rich ones, which is possibly initiated by the disparities of the viscosity and sharp gradient of surface tension at the boundary regions.[23] Therefore, the present system should be recognized as a 'photo-triggered' process rather than a 'photo-induced' one. This photo-triggered process has been observed only for azobenzene polymers exhibiting a liquid crystal phase at the ambient temperature...

A significant increase in electroluminescence was achieved through coupling with localized surface plasmons in a single layer of Au nanoparticles. We fabricated a thin-film organic electroluminescence diode, which consists of an indium tin oxide (ITO) anode, a Au nanoparticle array, a Cu phthalocyanine hole transport layer, a tris(8-hydroxylquinolianato) aluminum (III) electron transport layer, a LiF electron injection layer, and an Al cathode. The device structure, with size-controlled Au particles embedded on ITO, can be used to realize the optimum distance for exciton-plasmon interactions by simply adjusting the thickness of the hole transport layer. We observed a 20-fold increase in the molecular fluorescence compared with that of a conventional diode structure.

Highly dispersed primary Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 crystals, which showed high discharge capacity at a high C-rate, were grown from a Li2MoO4 flux.