Past Seminars

The weekly seminar series organized by CNT and the Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute provides a forum for bringing national and international leaders in nanoscale science and technology to campus, and for graduate students enrolled in our Dual Ph.D. program in Nanotechnology to present their research.

All seminars are held on Tuesdays from 2:30 to 3:20 PM in Johnson Hall Room 102 (North end of building and across from MolE).

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Seminars

2013-04-23

Optically-active hybrid nanostructures: Exciton-plasmon interaction, Fano effect, and plasmonic chirality

Prof. Alexander O. Govorov , Ohio University - Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
Speaker's Website
Asst. Prof David Masiello, Dept. of Chemistry

Excitons and plasmons in nanocrystals strongly interact via Coulomb and electromagnetic fields and this interaction leads to characteristic interference effects which can be observed in optical spectra. An interaction between a discrete state of exciton and a continuum of plasmonic states gives rise to Fano-like asymmetric resonances and anti-resonances. These interference effects can strongly enhance a visibility of relatively weak exciton signals and can be used for spectroscopy of single nanoparticles and molecules. If a system includes chiral elements (chiral molecules or nanocrystals), the exciton-plasmon interaction is able to alter and enhance circular dichroism (CD) of chiral components. In particular, the exciton-plasmon interaction may create new chiral plasmonic lines in CD spectra of a biomolecule-nanocrystal complex. Strong CD signals may also appear in purely plasmonic systems with a chiral geometry and a strong particle-particle interaction. Recent experiments on molecule-nanocrystal and multi-nanocrystal complexes have shown the appearance of strong plasmonic signals in CD spectra. Potential applications of dynamic hybrid nanostructures include sensors and new optical and plasmonic materials.