Photonic–Plasmonic Nanostructures for Solar Energy Utilization and Emerging Biosensors

Abstract

Issues related to global energy and environment as well as health crisis are currently some of the greatest challenges faced by humanity, which compel us to develop new pollution-free and sustainable energy sources, as well as next-generation biodiagnostic solutions. Optical functional nanostructures that manipulate and confine light on a nanometer scale have recently emerged as leading candidates for a wide range of applications in solar energy conversion and biosensing. In this review, recent research progress in the development of photonic and plasmonic nanostructures for various applications in solar energy conversion, such as photovoltaics, photothermal conversion, and photocatalysis, is highlighted. Furthermore, the combination of photonic and plasmonic nanostructures for developing high-efficiency solar energy conversion systems is explored and discussed. We also discuss recent applications of photonic–plasmonic-based biosensors in the rapid management of infectious diseases at point-of-care as well as terahertz biosensing and imaging for improving global health. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and future prospects associated with the existing solar energy conversion and biosensing systems.

Magnetoplasmonic photonic arrays for rapid and selective colorimetric detection of chloride ions in water

“…The importance of colorimetric analysis has signicantly escalated in recent years, bolstering the operational efficiency of plasmonic and photonic-based sensors. [9][10][11][12][13] Notably, noble metal NPs, including silver (Ag) and gold (Au) NPs, owing to their unique properties such as operational simplicity, cost-effective production, sensitivity, and straightforward construction, have been extensively employed in colorimetric sensors due to the method's sensitive and selective detection capability. [14][15][16] Nonetheless, the integration of nanoparticles onto support materials oen necessitates a combination with supplementary technologies to amplify signals through optical, magnetic, or electrochemical readers.…”

“…Alternatively, colorimetric sensing strategies that harness the structural color of photonic crystals (PCs) to generate environmentally-responsive, color-responsive materials have recently drawn considerable attention, specically in ion detection and monitoring applications. 9,[17][18][19] PCs are structures that possess a periodic dielectric constant in one, two, or all three dimensions. They interact with light in unique ways due to their periodic nanostructure and can inuence the propagation of electromagnetic waves, leading to the phenomenon of structural color.…”

Ultrathin Film Amorphous Silicon Solar Cell Performance using Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis Method

“…In the quest of alternative renewable energy sources, thin film solar cell technology seems to be a promising due to the unlimited amount of energy source from the sun. The field of photonics and plasmonics has been propelled greatly in various applications like solar cell, antenna etc (Tran et al, 2020;Schuller et al, 2010;Belhadji, 2022;Hamdani et al, 2022). Last few decades, solar cell technology has been developed and still an expensive as compared to the fossil fuels.…”

Hot Electrons in TiO2–Noble Metal Nano-Heterojunctions: Fundamental Science and Applications in Photocatalysis

“…To overcome these limitations, plasmonic photocatalysts have emerged as a promising technology for harvesting and converting solar energy [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. This is achieved by the generation and transfer of energetic charge carriers or “hot electrons” via resonant interaction of incident light with the collective and coherent motion of electrons in metal nanostructures to initiate, enhance, and promote photocatalytic activity.…”