Molecular Plasmonic Silver Forests for the Photocatalytic-Driven Sensing Platforms

Abstract

Structural electronics, as well as flexible and wearable devices are applications that are possible by merging polymers with metal nanoparticles. However, using conventional technologies, it is challenging to fabricate plasmonic structures that remain flexible. We developed three-dimensional (3D) plasmonic nanostructures/polymer sensors via single-step laser processing and further functionalization with 4-nitrobenzenethiol (4-NBT) as a molecular probe. These sensors allow ultrasensitive detection with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). We tracked the 4-NBT plasmonic enhancement and changes in its vibrational spectrum under the chemical environment perturbations. As a model system, we investigated the sensor’s performance when exposed to prostate cancer cells’ media over 7 days showing the possibility of identifying the cell death reflected in the environment through the effects on the 4-NBT probe. Thus, the fabricated sensor could have an impact on the monitoring of the cancer treatment process. Moreover, the laser-driven nanoparticles/polymer intermixing resulted in a free-form electrically conductive composite that withstands over 1000 bending cycles without losing electrical properties. Our results bridge the gap between plasmonic sensing with SERS and flexible electronics in a scalable, energy-efficient, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly way.

Universal Approach to Integrating Reduced Graphene Oxide into Polymer Electronics

“…This concept aligns with laser-assisted metal-polymer joining, where molten polymer fills defects in the metal to enhance adhesion [ 15 , 16 ]. This approach has led to the creation of robust conductive structures based on graphene and metal nanoparticles on PET surfaces [ 17 , 18 ], marking the initial steps in integrating nanomaterials into polymers using laser irradiation for flexible electronics.…”

Smart Graphene Textiles for Biopotential Monitoring: Laser-Tailored Electrochemical Property Enhancement

“…This novel integration into textiles offers a versatile means to fix electrodes to the skin without adhesives. Building on our previous research, − we used laser processing to craft an rGO/PET/textile hybrid material, resulting in a robust, washable textile-based structure with significantly reduced electrode polarization, compared to the previous work . This occurs thanks to blocking ion intercalation into the interlayer spacing of rGO with melted polymer, exposing only the topmost layers to the electrolyte.…”

Editorial: Special Issue “Laser Synthesis and Processing of Nanostructured Materials”

“…Special Issue was focused on recent trends in the fabrication of functional nanostructures, nanomaterials and nanotextured surfaces using laser radiation. The resulting content of this Special Issue comprising 10 original papers reflects the diversity of the developing nanofabrication strategies that utilize pulsed laser radiation, including pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL) for nanomaterial generation [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ], pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of functional coatings [ 5 ], laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) [ 6 ], laser sintering [ 7 ], pulsed laser surface nanotexturing [ 8 ] and direct laser writing in transparent media [ 9 , 10 ].…”

“…For all laser-textured and chemically functionalized surfaces, a significant increase in both the critical heat flux and heat transfer coefficient was observed as compared to pristine copper surfaces. Fatkullin et al utilized direct laser exposure of thin silver (Ag) film deposited on a flexible polymer substrate to produce hierarchical plasmon-active nanomorphology suitable for optical detection of molecular species via the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect [ 7 ]. The excellent SERS performance of the sensor substrate was further evaluated by detecting structural transformations of 4-nitrobenzenethiol molecular probes reacting to the changes in the cancer cell media.…”