Polarization-Dependent Optical Response in Anisotropic Nanoparticle–DNA Superlattices

Abstract

DNA-programmable assembly has been used to prepare superlattices composed of octahedral and spherical nanoparticles, respectively. These superlattices have the same body-centered cubic lattice symmetry and macroscopic rhombic dodecahedron crystal habit but tunable lattice parameters by virtue of the DNA length, allowing one to study and determine the effect of nanoscale structure and lattice parameter on the light-matter interactions in the superlattices. Backscattering measurements and finite-difference time-domain simulations have been used to characterize these two classes of superlattices. Superlattices composed of octahedral nanoparticles exhibit polarization-dependent backscattering but via a trend that is opposite to that observed in the polarization dependence for analogous superlattices composed of spherical nanoparticles. Electrodynamics simulations show that this polarization dependence is mainly due to the anisotropy of the nanoparticles and is observed only if the octahedral nanoparticles are well-aligned within the superlattices. Both plasmonic and photonic modes are identified in such structures, both of which can be tuned by controlling the size and shape of the nanoparticle building blocks, the lattice parameters, and the overall size of the three-dimensional superlattices (without changing habit).

Controlled growth and shape-directed self-assembly of gold nanoarrows

“…For the planar Net-I SCs, the main scattering peak exhibits a red shift as the polarization changes from 0° to 90°, and the difference between the scattering maxima (Δλ) can be systematically tuned from ~250 to ~190 nm by adjusting the configuration of the Net-I SCs. The Δλ values are much larger than the reported Δλ value (~10 nm) for the superlattices consisting of gold nanooctahedra ( 43 ). Furthermore, the Zipper structure exhibits two well-resolved SPR peaks in the scattering spectra, and both the position and relative intensity of the peaks show marked changes upon changing the polarization.…”

“…Furthermore, the Zipper structure exhibits two well-resolved SPR peaks in the scattering spectra, and both the position and relative intensity of the peaks show marked changes upon changing the polarization. The polarization-dependent properties may lead to several applications, such as polarization-dependent optical metamaterials, plasmonic color generation, and sensing ( 43 , 44 ).…”

Assembly of three-dimensional binary superlattices from multi-flavored particles

“…applications. For colloidal crystals in general, notable applications include photonics 4,5 , sensing 6,7 , and catalysis 8,9 . By controlling the relative sizes of colloidal particles in binary systems and the nature of their interactions, a myriad of structures have been produced experimentally from self-assembly: CsCl, NaCl, CuAu, NaTl, AlB 2 , MgZn 2 , Cr 3 Si, Cu 3 Au, Cs 6 C 60 , and others 2,3,[10][11][12][13][14][15] .…”

Position‐ and Orientation‐Controlled Growth of Wulff‐Shaped Colloidal Crystals Engineered with DNA

“…[ 10 ] The ability to control symmetry and crystal habit has advanced crystal engineering with DNA toward a variety of unique applications, especially in nanophotonics. [ 11 ] In particular, several types of colloidal crystals engineered with DNA have shown promise as polarizers, [ 12 ] waveguides, [ 13 ] emitters, [ 11b ] and reflectors. [ 13 ] Due to their small size (micrometer‐scale), such colloidal crystals may further be integrated into high‐density optical circuits for computing purposes.…”